HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania was awarded over $156 million this week from the Biden administration to deliver affordable, reliable, and sustainable solar power to low-income Pennsylvanians and environmental justice communities.
The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority’s (PEDA) Solar for All initiative is estimated to benefit more than 14,000 Pennsylvania households, save more than $192 million on Pennsylvanians’ electric bills over the next twenty years, as well as cut 43 million tons of carbon emissions over the next twenty years – for reference, that’s the equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from ten million gasoline-powered vehicles.
Pennsylvania’s Solar for All program will provide residential solar technology in low-income areas and associated storage, provide financial assistance to enable upgrades to households in low-income and disadvantaged communities and create good-paying energy jobs.
“Every Pennsylvanian has a constitutional right to clean air, pure water, and a healthy environment,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Thanks to these investments from the Biden Administration, Pennsylvania will be able to build out reliable, sustainable, and affordable solar energy infrastructure, which will help low-income Pennsylvanians save money on their electric bills, while also reducing pollution in our communities.
My administration is committed to taking real action to address climate change pollution, help Pennsylvania maintain its energy independence, and to cut costs for Pennsylvanians.”
“Through the Solar for All program we will bring clean, renewable energy to more communities, especially those that have carried a disproportionate pollution burden in the past,” said Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley, who serves as the chair of PEDA’s board of directors. “Increasing residential solar will bring jobs and clean energy to more parts of Pennsylvania and help fight climate pollution.”
The impacts of climate change aren’t limited to one community or another – they affect rural and urban areas alike, and every Pennsylvanian has a constitutional right to clean air and pure water. The Shapiro administration adopted an updated environmental justice policy last year that ensures every community, no matter their location, demographics, or wealth, has equal access to environmental protections. The Solar for All program builds on that work by ensuring the people most impacted by climate change pollution will have access to these clean energy investments, as well as the job opportunities that come with those new projects.
PEDA applied for the Solar for All program as the lead applicant of a two-member coalition with the Philadelphia Green Capital Corp. (PGCC), the non-profit green bank affiliate of the Philadelphia Energy Authority. PEDA is an independent public authority created by the Commonwealth in 1982 to finance energy and energy-related projects. By law, the Department of Environmental Protection provides administrative support to PEDA.
For more information on the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, please visit the website at: www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Energy/OfficeofPollutionPrevention/FinancialOptions/Pages/PEDA.aspx.
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