Thank you Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to submit testimony regarding HB 2250, the "Renewable Portfolio Standards Act." PennEnvironment commends Representative Ross for his efforts to bring this important issue before the Committee. My name is Nathan Willcox, and I am the energy and clean air advocate for PennEnvironment. PennEnvironment is a statewide environmental advocacy organization with more than 13,000 members across the state.
Summary:
PennEnvironment strongly supports the increased production of renewable energy in Pennsylvania, and we strongly support the state taking action through a renewable portfolio standard to ensure that increased renewable energy production occurs. The Commonwealth has tremendous renewable energy potential, specifically with regard to wind power, and capitalizing on this potential will do nothing but positive things for our environment, our public health, our energy stability, and our economy.
While PennEnvironment is very supportive of the intent of House Bill 2250, we also urge the Committee to consider several changes to the legislation which would guarantee that House Bill 2250 would promote only clean and renewable energy development in Pennsylvania.
Background:
Pennsylvania is currently far too reliant on polluting sources of energy-namely coal-fired power plants and nuclear power-that harm our environment and our public health. The environmental and public health impacts from coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania are well-documented. Coal-fired power plants release air pollutants, such as mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, into the air. These pollutants cause learning disabilities in children, trigger over 350,000 asthma attacks, and cut short the lives of more than 2,200 Pennsylvanians every year. Mercury pollution is an especially critical and timely issue for the Commonwealth to be considering. Not only is there a current advisory covering all Pennsylvania waterways, advising women of child-bearing age and children to limit their consumption of fish due to mercury pollution, but the Bush administration is also considering a proposal that would rollback national rules aimed at reducing mercury pollution from power plants. Power plants also emit approximately one-third of US emissions of the global warming gas carbon dioxide, and Pennsylvania is responsible for one percent of the world's global warming emissions. Possible impacts of global warming on Pennsylvania include an increase in heat waves, droughts, tropical diseases, and severe weather events, which cost Pennsylvania $364 million in 2002. Nuclear power is equally as devastating to our environment and public health, as it creates tons of radioactive waste that will remain deadly for generations to come.
Increasing the amount of clean energy being produced in the Commonwealth would have clear benefits for our environment and public health. Truly renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power carry with them only negligible environmental impacts. Increasing the amount of such energy sources will help to protect our air, our water, and our public health, by decreasing the need for the dirty and dangerous energy sources upon which we are currently over-reliant.
Increasing the amount of renewable energy that we produce in Pennsylvania will also help to increase the stability of our energy systems. A renewable portfolio standard would diversify the state and region's fuel sources with domestic supplies that are less susceptible to supply shortages and price spikes. It would help to create new competitors to help restrain future fossil fuel price increases. Lastly, a renewable portfolio standard would support Pennsylvania's efforts to reduce our non-attainment status under the Clean Air Act.
A renewable portfolio standard would also have tremendous economic benefits, for a variety of constituencies in Pennsylvania. Farmers and rural communities will have the opportunity to receive substantial lease payments for allowing wind turbines to be sited on their land. Incidentally, many of these rural communities are the same communities that have been hit hardest by the downturn in the coal industry.
In addition to lease payments, wind and solar power operations each provide 40% more jobs per dollar of investment than do coal operations. A recent report by the PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center entitled "Renewables Work: Job Growth from Renewable Energy Development in the Mid-Atlantic," examined the potential economic benefits from renewable energy for the Mid-Atlantic region, and found that:
- Developing wind potential in the region could result in 11,100 year-long jobs in wind turbine manufacturing and installation, with a payroll of $334 million; 740 permanent jobs in wind farm operation and maintenance, with a yearly payroll of $30 million; and 12,700 year-long jobs and 850 permanent jobs indirectly supported by the wind industry.
- Development of wind power in the region would mean at least $23 million in royalties paid to rural landowners who lease their land for wind generation.
- With regard to solar energy production, installing a 2kW photovoltaic system on just one out of ten homes in the Mid-Atlantic would create over 5,700 year-long jobs in installation, operation, and maintenance and over 8,000 year-long manufacturing jobs.
While these are all regional numbers, we can safely assume that because Pennsylvania has roughly 75% of the potential for wind energy production in the region, that at least a majority of the jobs from wind energy development will be created in Pennsylvania. Also, it is important to note that Pennsylvania could become a major hub of renewable energy technology manufacturing for the region. Renewable energy companies from both within the U.S. and abroad want to set up manufacturing facilities in areas where there is both renewable energy potential, and a commitment from the local government to capitalize on this potential. Pennsylvania already has enormous renewable energy potential-specifically in the area of wind power-and the enactment of a strong RPS would send a clear message to renewable energy technology manufacturers that Pennsylvania is serious about becoming a leader in this sector.
Lastly, increasing our reliance on clean, renewable energy sources will carry with it the economic benefits of decreasing our use of polluting energy sources. These benefits can include everything from decreased health care costs due to fewer hospital visits by Pennsylvanians suffering from respiratory problems, to an increase in sport fishing in the state due to decreased mercury pollution in our waterways.
An RPS Should Include Only Clean & Renewable Energy Sources
Any Renewable Portfolio Standard enacted in Pennsylvania should stimulate the development of new, clean and renewable energy sources. Polluting energy sources, such as the combustion of waste coal, should NOT be eligible for the same policy support as clean, renewable energy sources, lest they crowd out new, genuinely clean and renewable options. The burning of waste coal, while it could be classified by some as an emerging technology, is certainly not clean, as the air pollution emissions from waste coal facilities are in most cases comparable with coal-fired power plants-specifically with regard to nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide emissions. While we have been unable at this point to obtain data on carbon dioxide emissions from waste coal facilities, it is clear that waste coal combustion would emit at least as much carbon dioxide as conventional coal combustion. The intent of a Renewable Portfolio Standard is to advance emerging and developing clean energy technologies.
Additionally, the inclusion of waste coal as an eligible resource might also result in electricity providers to demand a premium for them as a "clean energy source."
With regard to House Bill 2250, while waste coal is not specifically included as a potential renewable energy source, it is also not specifically excluded under the "energy from waste" category. To this end, PennEnvironment would suggest that language be added to the legislation to specifically exclude waste coal from being credited as a renewable resource under this legislation. Another point of concern regarding waste coal and HB 2250 is that if waste coal were to be included, there is currently no language in the legislation setting pollution control requirements for the waste coal facilities-either with regard to air pollution or the disposal of the resulting coal ash. Without such language, the state could be awarding "renewable energy" classification to facilities and energy sources that are a) not renewable, and b) possibly more harmful to Pennsylvania's environment and public health than modern coal-fired power plants.
A RPS Should Include a Requirement for New Renewable Energy Sources
The main objective of any renewable portfolio standard should be to stimulate investments in new renewable energy production. This is important because there are both renewable energy projects that are already online, and renewable energy projects that are due to come online with or without passage of a renewable portfolio standard in Pennsylvania. A specific requirement for new renewable energy projects (i.e. X% of renewable energy credited towards the renewable portfolio standard must come from projects that come online after the enactment of the renewable portfolio standard) would guarantee that the renewable portfolio standard would prompt energy producers and suppliers to invest in new renewable energy projects, rather than meeting the requirements through existing renewable energy projects.
With regard to HB 2250, there is currently no language in the legislation that would guarantee new renewable energy production. PennEnvironment urges the legislature to add language that would require a certain percentage of the RPS to be met by renewable energy projects constructed after the enactment of the RPS. Related to this, we would also point out that while solar power is still more expensive than many other energy sources, it is the most promising technology for the long term and its prices are continuing to decline. Due to its higher prices, though, solar power is often unable to compete with other energy sources, even within an RPS. PennEnvironment therefore urges the legislature to add language to HB 2250 that would guarantee a certain amount of solar energy production within the Commonwealth.
On behalf of PennEnvironment and our 13,000 members, I thank the Committee for the opportunity to present this testimony, and I would be more than happy to discuss any of the points brought up in this or other testimony further. Thank you.
