Clean Energy for Pennsylvania!
Support a Strong and Clean Renewable Portfolio Standard!

Why does Pennsylvania need Clean Energy? Pennsylvania's environment has been destroyed by dirty energy technologies more than any other state. From the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown to the Centralia mine fire, to the dioxin-spewing Harrisburg incinerator, Pennsylvania's health and environment suffer from an excessive supply of dirty power and a lack of clean, renewable energy. Follow this link for more information on Pennsylvania's Dirty Energy Legacy
Demands for a Strong, Clean RPS No Burning Fossil Fuels: No waste coal or coal-bed methane. If they want to promote cleanup of waste coal piles in PA, give credits for safe, non-burn cleanup methods instead. No Solid Fuel Combustion: No burning of trees, crops or any sort of waste. New Renewables: There needs to be a cap of no more than 2-3% on existing renewables, so that the RPS isn't swamped by existing capacity, preventing NEW renewables from being built. Solar Needs to be Included: The RPS must be structured so that solar can play a role. A "solar share" would be ideal. Secondarily, a Clean Energy Fund dedicated only to grants for solar PV would be acceptable. Extra credits for solar would be a good bonus, but aren't sufficient. Limits on Bio-Gas: Toxins in landfill gas must be filtered and isolated before burning. Animal waste digesters should be limited in size and shouldn't be allowed to process waste from new animal factories. Consumer Protections: There needs to be protection in the law against the 6 types of double-counting, to prevent fraud. Also, the administration of the credit trading system must be public and transparent, like the Maryland RPS requires.

Why does Pennsylvania need Clean Energy?

Pennsylvania's environment has been destroyed by dirty energy technologies more than any other state. From the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown to the Centralia mine fire, to the dioxin-spewing Harrisburg incinerator, Pennsylvania's health and environment suffer from an excessive supply of dirty power and a lack of clean, renewable energy. Follow this link for more information on Pennsylvania's Dirty Energy Legacy

Demands for a Strong, Clean RPS

No Burning Fossil Fuels: No waste coal or coal-bed methane. If they want to promote cleanup of waste coal piles in PA, give credits for safe, non-burn cleanup methods instead.
No Solid Fuel Combustion: No burning of trees, crops or any sort of waste.
New Renewables: There needs to be a cap of no more than 2-3% on existing renewables, so that the RPS isn't swamped by existing capacity, preventing NEW renewables from being built.
Solar Needs to be Included: The RPS must be structured so that solar can play a role. A "solar share" would be ideal. Secondarily, a Clean Energy Fund dedicated only to grants for solar PV would be acceptable. Extra credits for solar would be a good bonus, but aren't sufficient.
Limits on Bio-Gas: Toxins in landfill gas must be filtered and isolated before burning. Animal waste digesters should be limited in size and shouldn't be allowed to process waste from new animal factories.
Consumer Protections: There needs to be protection in the law against the 6 types of double-counting, to prevent fraud. Also, the administration of the credit trading system must be public and transparent, like the Maryland RPS requires.

Pennsylvania legislators are considering following the lead of 15 other states by passing a Renewable Portfolio Standard or RPS. Renewable Portfolio Standards require energy suppliers in the state to have a minimum percentage of "renewable" energy in their overall energy mix.
There are currently three RPS bills before the Pennsylvania legislature. Senate Bill 962 is the strongest and cleanest RPS policy in the nation and it enjoys the widest support from grassroots community organizations throughout the state. However, due to partisan politics, the legislation is stalled in committee. However, the ideas from it can be amended into the two dirtier RPS bills that are under consideration. These other bills may be passed by the end of 2003-2004 legislative session (which ends on Nov 24th). If citizens don't speak up, however, the bills could end up doing more harm than good.
House Bill 2250 and Senate Bill 1030 are weaker and dirtier RPS policies which have much broader (and dirtier) definitions of "renewable resources" and fail to support the development of new renewable energy sources. As a result, it's technically possible that if HB 2250 or SB 1030 were to become law, their RPS requirements would be met without a single new wind or solar facility being developed. These bills also promote the burning of fossil fuels (waste coal and coal-bed methane). Separate legislation (SB 1191) would explicitly declare waste coal burning to be "renewable" and "green power" and would allow it to dominate any RPS legislation that is passed, preventing such legislation from significantly promoting real renewable energy sources.
11/9/2004 UPDATE: Senate Bill 1030 was just amended and voted out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. The legislation is even dirtier now and needs significant work to make it acceptable. To view a current copy of the bill, click here (the new bill language starts on page six).
Please join us in urging your state legislators to support our demands for strong, clean RPS legislation.

Read our testimony before the PA Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee
Frequently Asked Questions about RPS in Pennsylvania
Organizations supporting SB 962
Learn more about Renewable Portfolio Standards in general
Compare the bills: by Incentives / Mechanisms or by which Fuels / Technologies are included

Bill / Status Bill Name Sponsored by Introduced

SB 962 Clean Energy Portfolio Standard Senator Ferlo mid-November 2003

HB 2250 Renewable Portfolio Standard Representative Ross late-November 2003

SB 1030 Renewable and Environmentally Beneficial Portfolio Standard Senator Erickson March 2004

[Not Being Introduced] Advanced Energy Portfolio Standard Drafted by the Rendell Administration April 2004

If you have any questions about RPS legislation in PA or if your organization would like to join in support of a clean, strong and effective RPS, please contact Mike Ewall at 215-743-4884 or catalyst@actionpa.org

Bill / Status	Bill Name	Sponsored by	Introduced
SB 962	Clean Energy Portfolio Standard	Senator Ferlo	mid-November 2003
HB 2250	Renewable Portfolio Standard	Representative Ross	late-November 2003
SB 1030	Renewable and Environmentally Beneficial Portfolio Standard	Senator Erickson	March 2004
[Not Being Introduced]	Advanced Energy Portfolio Standard	Drafted by the Rendell Administration	April 2004

Clean Energy for Pennsylvania! Support a Strong and Clean Renewable Portfolio Standard!

Clean Energy for Pennsylvania!
Support a Strong and Clean Renewable Portfolio Standard!