February 11, 2004—Pennsylvania will become a national leader in building and deploying advanced energy technology under Governor Edward G. Rendell’s proposed 2004-05 budget, Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty said recently.
The Governor’s budget will expand Pennsylvania Energy Harvest to provide the financial tools to encourage clean and renewable energy projects from advanced energy sources such as biomass, wind, solar, small-scale hydroelectric, landfill methane, coal-bed methane and waste-coal. With just $5 million in its first year last year, Pennsylvania Energy Harvest was a success, receiving 139 applications with requests for $45 million in funding that would generate $96 million in private investment.
Building on the leadership position of having already doubled the amount of “green” energy that Pennsylvania uses, the Governor has directed agencies to redouble that effort again so that fully 20 percent of the state’s energy needs are met by state-of-the-art technologies.
To expand that effort across Pennsylvania and into the private sector, a new Advanced Energy Portfolio Standard will ensure that in 10 years, 10 percent of all of the energy generated in the Commonwealth will come from clean, efficient sources. Additionally, a revitalized Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority will provide financing to a wide range of energy research, development and demonstration projects to develop, promote and more efficiently use alternative energy resources indigenous to the state.
With these initiatives, Pennsylvania will invest in and promote state-of- the-art coal gasification technologies that will fuel economic development and bring new hope and jobs to some especially hard hit parts of the state; tap reserves of coal gas methane and reduce the release of greenhouse gases by turning non-marketable mine gas into a usable energy source; boost the rural economy by building biodigesters on farms; and enhance the state’s reputation as the leader on the East Coast in wind energy, with wind farms already producing 129 megawatts of electricity here—enough to power almost 45,000 homes—and another 49 megawatts scheduled to come on line within the next year.
Building on the success in demonstrating that a clean environment and robust economy go hand in hand, the Governor also unveiled an initiative, Growing Greener II, that will pave the way for the next generation of brownfield redevelopment projects; improve the health of Pennsylvania’s waterways; address serious environmental problems at some 5,000 mine sites; and enhance other programs that have been a resounding success in cleaning up the environment and revitalizing communities.
The state’s Land Recycling Program will receive $40 million over four years to clean up a vast industrial heritage that has left Pennsylvania with between 10,000 and 12,000 brownfield sites—that’s 100,000 to 120,000 acres of prime real estate desperately in need of investment to encourage growth and attract business. The Governor’s leadership is a lifeline for the program. Without new revenue, the program will be bankrupt in the coming fiscal year, hampering a nationally acclaimed program that has cleaned up more than 1,350 properties, creating and/or retaining 30,000 jobs since 1995.
