Berks County News

With energy prices on the rise, and consumers pinched for cash in a day-to-day fight to pay the bills and stay out of debt, the family’s monthly electric bill is no longer an afterthought. Enter solar energy, which the U.S. Energy Information Administration has predicted will soon be powering thousands of homes in the United States. In Pennsylvania, as coal-powered generation comes offline – mostly due to the rise of PA’s natural gas industry in the 21st century – new power generation investments are increasingly not just an option: they are an absolute necessity, to reliably keep the lights on in the Commonwealth.

The ability and need for solar generation to fill the gaps caused by the loss of coal facilities has never been stronger than it is now. Solar PV technology is more affordable and more productive than ever. As Penn State researcher Ed Johnstonbaugh recently found, costs have dropped precipitously over the last decade. American solar manufacturing is starting to boom, and new solar plants are coming online around the country. 

In Berks County, the opportunities with solar are seemingly endless. The new Community Solar bill, recently introduced by conservative Senator Rosemary Brown (R- Monroe County, Northampton County) is exactly right kind of policy to spur new development. The bill has been endorsed by the PA Farm Bureau, and by several trade unions, including the PA Building Trades. For the sake of grid and economic security, the Pennsylvania Senate should pass this bill as soon as possible.

Solar can increase the resiliency and reliability of our increasingly fragile energy grid by harnessing the power of the market to help us diversify the energy sources that can be drawn on to respond to an emergency — longstanding conservative goals and a national security imperative.

Large-scale solar is also a necessity, as we consider the need to quickly fill the void left by retired facilities. Conservative voters and policymakers are supporting large-scale solar across the Commonwealth, and the Pennsylvania Conservative Energy Forum (PennCEF) is leading the way.

Led by a group of former conservative elected and appointed officials – like former Lt. Governor Jim Cawley, former U.S. Navy Secretary under President Reagan (and 9/11 Commission member) John Lehman, and former State Representative Tom Stevenson -- PennCEF stands for jobs, economic development, national security and land rights – for “all of the above” in our diverse PA energy sector. In fact, John Lehman has spoken out on this subject, noting that solar “is going to be a major factor in keeping family farms operating in the State of Pennsylvania.” 

As a former Tom Ridge/Mark Schweiker Administration official and lifelong Republican, I was part of the group of founders who launched PennCEF in 2018, and I believe strongly in these principles. Farmers, landowners and ratepayers alike all stand to benefit from the build-out of solar energy at the large-scale level.

Consider the 50 MW Mountain Trail project recently proposed for new solar development in Berks County. PennCEF supports this project, and believes that farmers stand to benefit in significant ways, among other tax revenue and economic impact beneficiaries spread throughout the county. As Pennsylvania’s Ely Farm demonstrates, solar and ag use are entirely compatible. PennCEF stands for the land rights of the farmer, whose operations may or may not be viable in the future, particularly in Pennsylania’s hard-hit dairy sector.

With the goal of lowering the ratepayer’s monthly bill, and keeping the lights on, solar generation in Berks County is an appealing option to save consumers money, boost the local economy and enhance grid reliability. PennCEF supports solar, and believes that it is both necessary and safe for our families.

Chad A. Forcey is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Conservative Energy Forum (www.penncef.org)