Pennsylvania’s economy stands at a fork in the road, with demand for electricity growing an average of nearly 5 percent annually in the next 15 years. The path of inaction leads to perpetually high electricity rates and stagnant economic development as supply of electricity struggles to meet demand. The other path, where policies promote clean energy abundance, would stabilize electricity rates and support a surge in economic growth, electrification and American manufacturing.
Energy developers have over 9,000 megawatts of solar, wind and battery storage waiting in line to alleviate Pennsylvania’s energy squeeze. These projects dominate the PJM Interconnection queue, representing more than 85 percent of planned future power plants. They promise affordable power, cleaner air and thousands of jobs.
PJM has reformed the interconnection queue in response to criticism over delays, but those reforms cannot deliver results while a tangled patchwork of local ordinances stalls clean energy projects. Unclear timelines, local capacity constraints, and fragmented decision-making drag out approvals and drive clean energy projects away. Without changes, these projects risk cancellation, and Pennsylvanians will face significant limits on shovel-ready solutions that meet growing energy needs, now.
House Bill 502 and Senate Bill 502, key pieces of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Lightning Energy Plan, offer a better way forward. Sponsored by Rep. Mandy Steele and Sen. John Kane, these identical bills create the Reliable Energy Siting and Electric Transition Board, known as the RESET Board.
The proposed RESET board would set clear timelines, provide technical expertise, and give developers, regulators and communities a single, consistent process for siting large energy projects. No energy project would be built without support of Pennsylvania landowners. Local communities can continue making their voices heard by participating in the required consultations and public hearings, but the state would coordinate the process to ensure fairness and predictability. Projects must still obtain the same air and water environmental permits as before, and projects denied by a local government are prohibited from using the new alternative RESET board as a “second chance”.
Rep. Steele and Sen. Kane deserve recognition for proposing this reform. They understand that Pennsylvanians cannot afford endless delays or inaction. By pushing the RESET legislation forward, they have shown the courage to take on a hard issue — one that determines whether families pay higher bills or gain the benefits of affordable, reliable clean power.
Without reform, uncertainty at the local level will continue to stall projects, risking cancellation of the diverse mix of clean resources in the queue and leaving ratepayers to cover the increasing cost of an outdated electricity grid that is highly dependent on natural gas. The RESET board would not harm existing fossil fuel or nuclear power plants, but it would enable the addition of many new solar, wind and battery storage projects. Over-reliance on any single fuel, as PJM is now reliant on natural gas, means that consumers are exposed to volatile fuel prices and global energy markets. Every “no” to getting clean power steel in the ground effectively signs off on higher costs, greater pollution, and reliability risks.
Recent changes to federal policy raise the stakes. The Inflation Reduction Act credits now expire for projects that fail to start construction by next summer. A streamlined state siting process gives clean energy projects a fighting chance to meet these deadlines and capture an unmatchable opportunity for lower electricity costs.
Pennsylvania cannot take the fork in the road that leads to clean energy abundance without House Bill 502 and Senate Bill 502. Every day of delay raises costs for families and businesses and increases the risk to grid reliability. Rep. Steele and Sen. Kane have shown leadership in starting this debate. Now, policymakers, advocates, and communities across the Commonwealth must move the conversation forward and implement real solutions to address our energy crunch.