Lack of incentives means absence of solar arrays

PENNSYLVANIA - There are not many large solar arrays in Pennsylvania because the state has not provided financial incentives to build them as other states have done, state officials said.

Across the country, increasing the use of solar technology is being driven at the state level, said state Rep. Dante Santoni Jr., a Reading Democrat. That's one of the reasons Gov. Ed Rendell wants the Legislature to approve $15 million in financial incentives he has proposed for solar technology, said Michael Smith, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

About one quarter of 1 percent of the total energy produced in Pennsylvania is produced by solar technology scattered around the state at residences and businesses, Smith said.

The largest contributor to that amount is a 75-kilowatt solar array at Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical in Spring House, Montgomery County.

Similar projects are more common in other states that provide financial incentives for producing them. For instance, state-distributed financial incentives were part of the motivation behind several solar projects tackled in New Jersey by PPL Utilities Corp., said PPL spokesman Ryan Hill.

Those included: A 500-kilowatt project to help power an aluminum plant in Pennsauken.

A 500-kilowatt project to help power a landfill-gas power system in Pennsauken. A 393-kilowatt project to help power a Macy's store in Jersey City. A 366-kilowatt project to help power a Macy's in Mays Landing. Though PPL has not worked on any similar solar projects in Pennsylvania, the company does buy power from wind farms near Wilkes-Barre and Mahanoy City, Schuylkill County, Hill said.

The company is also making plans to meet Pennsylvania's goal to have every power company produce 18 percent of its power from renewable resources by 2020. "PPL plans to develop $100 million in renewable energy projects in the next five years," Hill said.

"Those are likely solar, biomass, landfill gas and wind projects."

Related News

powerlines

The Banker Trying to Fix the UK's Electricity Grid

LONDON - During his three decades at investment bank Morgan Stanley, Franck Petitgas developed a reputation for solving problems that vexed others. Fixing the UK’s creaking power grid could be his most challenging task yet.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed Petitgas as his chief business adviser, and the former financier has been pushing to tackle the gridlock that’s left projects waiting endlessly for a connection, an issue he sees as one of the biggest problems for industry.

But there are no easy solutions to tackle the years-long queue to get on the grid or the drawn-out planning process for…

READ MORE
ukrainians-find-new-energy-solutions-to-overcome-winter-blackouts

Ukrainians Find New Energy Solutions to Overcome Winter Blackouts

READ MORE

alberta wind power

'Transformative change': Wind-generated electricity starting to outpace coal in Alberta

READ MORE

powerlines

Canada and Manitoba invest in new turbines

READ MORE

Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Can Nearly Level Southeast Electricity Demand

Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Can Nearly Level Southeast Electricity Demand for More than a Decade

READ MORE