Pa. House lawmakers promoted a 10-bill green energy package that includes solar for warehouses, geothermal expansion, and expanding energy storage infrastructure.
A little more than one month into President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, union leaders and environmental advocates joined Democratic lawmakers from the Pennsylvania House on Monday to promote a packet of energy related bills that tackle rising rates and affordability concerns.
“We’re not just on the eve of an energy crisis, we are in it,” State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), Chair of the Pennsylvania House Energy Committee, told reporters.
“Regular people who come into my district office would tell you that we are already there. They’re already making some of the worst decisions that no human should have to make.”
Democrats hope to expand geothermal energy, incentivize manufacturers located in the commonwealth to operate at carbon neutral levels while remaining in state, and expand battery storage and solar infrastructure.
“ We’re all feeling the pain as the extreme agenda coming out of Washington drives up the cost of living in pursuit of even more money for billionaire donors,” Molly Parzen, executive director of the Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, said.
She added, “over the past two years, we’ve seen the administration in Washington double down on failed policies that have thrown the lives of working families into chaos. Between escalating international conflicts and the systemic rollback of federal clean energy investments, the current administration has left Pennsylvania families to pick up the tab.”
Piggybacking on the success of the Solar for Schools program, which provides school districts with funding to install solar panels, Democrats recently passed House Bill 1260, which would require newly constructed warehouses over 100,000 square feet to be solar-ready.
It would also provide tax credits to companies that retrofit existing warehouses to make them solar compatible.
Democratic lawmakers, environmental organizations and labor unions have found themselves at odds over energy issues in the past, but have come to work together promoting green energy projects through the Blue-Green Caucus, which has 58 members in the House.
The Pennsylvania Capital Star previously reported that labor leaders, environmental advocates, and lawmakers formed a partnership in 2021 on policy issues for the Blue-Green Caucus, which led to union leaders and environmental groups supporting each others’ priorities.
“ The building trades have been a part of all these bills,” Rob Bair, President of the Pennsylvania State Building and Construction Trades, said.
“ We want to help fix the problem. We want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. We want lower energy costs. When we can come together as a group, a diverse group like this and say we’re willing to sit at a table together and talk, we may not always agree.”
