A new report ranks Pennsylvania at the bottom of states in terms of renewable energy growth over the last decade.
Out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania only beat out Alaska in adding new wind and solar energy. The commonwealth also placed 50th in energy efficiency programs.
Other states known for oil and gas production were able to grow renewables at a much faster pace. The report says Texas is the leader. In 2022, Texas generated 91 times as much solar power as it did a decade before and three times as much wind.
The analysis from PennEnvironment shows the commonwealth had little growth in wind and tripled solar energy since 2013, with most of the growth happening in 2019.
The country as a whole doubled wind power and saw a 12-fold increase in solar in the same time frame.
Ellie Kerns, climate and clean energy associate with the PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center, said the group is advocating for a switch to 100% renewables by 2050.
“But in the last 10 years, we only brought online enough renewables to power less than 2% of Pennsylvania’s homes, and continue to purchase just 3% of our electricity from renewable sources,” Kerns said.
Doug Neidich, CEO of solar company GreenWorks Development, says one reason is that Pennsylvania met its goal for renewable energy two years ago.
Source: npr.org
Photo Credit: istock-shansekala
Categories: Pennsylvania, Energy