New Black & Veatch Study Finds Solar in the Keystone State Yields Many Jobs

SCITUATE, Mass., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ --The Solar Alliance and Vote Solar applaud the release of "An Assessment of 15 Percent Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard." The study, released by the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, provides a comprehensive look at the economic benefits of alternative energy. Black & Veatch, a leading energy analysis firm, found that Pennsylvania's solar resource is substantial enough to easily power 18% of the state's energy needs. Further it concludes that with larger renewable energy goals, solar alone can add over 48,000 new jobs to Pennsylvania, even after replacing jobs that would be lost in the fossil fuel sector.

"Black & Veatch's analysis was cautious; nevertheless it offers promising results despite these trying economic times. The Mid-Atlantic region is an attractive market for solar projects and prices are widely expected to continue to fall. Effective public policies, such as those outlined in the Legislature's House Bill 80 and Senate Bill 92, increase job opportunities while also building the economies of scale needed to drive down solar costs," states Carrie Cullen Hitt, President of The Solar Alliance.  In neighboring states, Maryland has increased its renewable energy requirements to 20 percent by 2022 and New Jersey's is now 22.5 percent by 2021.  

"Pennsylvania's renewable energy sector is poised to grow rapidly with the passage of House Bill 80, which will spur development of small, local power projects from a wide array of sources, including solar energy.  This clean energy bill will support new markets and new jobs," said Annie Carmichael, Pennsylvania lead for Vote Solar.

"Both the jobs and economic impacts using the assumptions Black & Veatch employed are obviously compelling.  Given the conservative nature of these assumptions, it is not difficult to project that we could see both more jobs and better economic impacts," said Mike Kane, executive director of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, which commissioned the study.

House Bill 80 and Senate Bill 92 would increase the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard for clean energy requirements from 8 percent to 15 percent from 2021 through 2026 and would require 3 percent of electricity to come from solar sources by 2026.      

About the Solar Alliance:

The Solar Alliance is a state-focused alliance of global solar equipment manufacturers, photovoltaic (PV) system integrators, and financiers dedicated to accelerating the promise of PV energy in the United States. www.solaralliance.org

About the Vote Solar Initiative:

Vote Solar is a non-profit grassroots organization working to fight climate change and foster economic opportunity by bringing solar energy into the mainstream. Since 2002 Vote Solar has engaged in state, local and federal advocacy campaigns to remove regulatory barriers and implement the key policies needed to bring solar to scale.

www.votesolar.org

SOURCE The Solar Alliance