BRISTOL, Pa. - The Keystone State could get all its power from renewable energy sources and generate thousands of jobs by the middle of this century, according to a new report.

Titled "Envisioning Pennsylvania's Energy Future," the report outlines a plan for increased investments in wind and solar power and energy efficiency that would virtually eliminate reliance on fossil fuels. According to Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, electricity consumers would see savings of $134 billion over 35 years.

"Also, as a result of these policies," she said, "the report calculates that we will see a net increase of nearly 500,000 jobs over this same period of time."

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network is sponsoring a free webinar on the report at 1 p.m. Thursday. Information is available at DelawareRiverkeeper.org.

Energy efficiency and conservation are major components of the plan. Carluccio said the technology to substantially reduce the amount of electricity generation required to power the state already exists.

"It's not just a substitution," she said. "It's not just a policy that will help us stretch a dollar, but will actually replace the need for the generation of dirty fossil fuels."

The plan also relies on the electrification of transportation and heating, as well as modernization of building codes to conserve energy.

Pennsylvania is the third-largest energy-producing state and top electricity-exporting state in the nation. Carluccio said the Commonwealth needs to be a major contributor to the global effort to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change.

"We must lead by example and become a model for the rest of the nation," she said, "and say we do not need fossil fuels in order to meet our energy needs."

The report, prepared for the Delaware Riverkeeper Network by EQ Research and Synapse Energy Economics, is online at eq-research.com.


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Arizona is ground zero for the 2024 election, but also sits on the front lines of the climate crisis, as the state has seen another year of record-breaking temperatures. One organization says the two issues go hand in hand.

Chispa Arizona executive director Vianey Olivarría said many state and local races in Arizona will have direct impacts on how state leaders not only manage environmental challenges, but also preserve democracy. She contended that Arizona isn't taking full advantage of the natural resources at its disposal.

"When we talk about clean energy, democracy and the future of Arizona, that's what we are talking about," she said. "It's a future where this heat is going to get worse, the pollution is going to get worse - that means that our ability to survive will highly depend on our ability to produce electricity."

She added that voters will get to choose candidates vying for three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission, which has significant power over the state's energy decisions. Olivarría contended that the commission's current members have been voting against the interest of ratepayers and the environment, and siding with utilities.

The commission has said it strives to deliver reliable, cost-effective energy. But just last month, the conservative-leaning commission approved two gas-powered plants.

While the Corporation Commission is supposed to play a significant role in fighting climate change, Olivarría said state legislative races can also make a difference.

"And that is a space that for a long time has become a very 'right-wing' space," she said. "There have been bills in the state Legislature that would take climate change out of our education systems, out of public schools - just talking about it, acknowledging it."

Olivarría said she wants lawmakers to visit the communities disproportionately affected by the urban heat island effect, in which the built environment and a lack of tree canopy makes them more vulnerable to hot weather. Since time is running short before Nov. 5, she reminded folks to vote in person on Election Day, or take their mail-in ballot to a secure dropbox or polling location.

With President Joe Biden in Baltimore today to talk about infrastructure and the climate crisis, the state is in the process of finalizing a new set of energy-use goals for large buildings.

Estimates indicate Maryland's buildings account for around a third of the state's greenhouse gas emissions. To reach goals set under the 2022 Climate Solutions Now Act, the Maryland Department of the Environment has developed energy performance standards for buildings 35,000 square feet and larger.

Veronique Bugnion, CEO of the Maryland-based consulting firm ClearlyEnergy, said performance standards are needed to help cities and states reach climate goals.

"Codes and code improvements are great but there's only so many new buildings being built, and there's an awful lot of existing building stock," Bugnion pointed out. "To tackle the emissions of the existing buildings, new tools were required and that's where building performance standards came from."

There are around 9,000 affected buildings across the state.

Starting next year, building owners will begin reporting energy use to the Maryland Department of the Environment. In 2030 buildings will have to begin meeting interim standards with net-zero emissions set to be required in 2040. Exemptions are available for historic buildings and schools among others.

Bugnion noted one of the virtues of performance standards is allowing flexibility for building owners.

"It really doesn't tell them what to do, it tells them what standard to meet and the standards gradually get more stringent over time," Bugnion explained. "So the first couple years, the expectation is buildings will find ways to do some of the obvious things. But over time, the writing is on the wall that as systems age out, they're going to need to replace them with much more efficient systems."

The department anticipates building owners will eventually convert existing heating and cooling systems to high efficiency electric options such as heat pumps. The energy use data reported next year will be used to calculate Energy Use Intensity Standards which are set to be adopted in 2027.


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A new report grades utilities based on their commitment to transitioning away from fossil fuels.

The Sierra Club has graded utilities on their climate pledges since 2021 in its Dirty Truth report.

It finds marginal improvements nationwide, with utilities only committed to retiring 30% of their coal generation by 2030.

Director of the Sierra Club Idaho chapter Lisa Young said one troubling trend is that some utilities claiming to clean up their power generation are simply switching from coal to natural gas.

"Knowing that our ultimate goal and what we need to be doing to address the climate crisis is not replacing one fossil fuel with another," said Young, "but replacing fossil fuels with 100% clean, renewable energy."

The report graded two utilities in Idaho, giving Idaho Power a 'C' grade and PacifiCorp a 'B' grade.

While it operates in fewer parts of Idaho, PacifiCorp serves a large swath of the West - including parts of California, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Idaho Power and PacifiCorp own a coal-fired power plant in Wyoming, with PacifiCorp in control of two-thirds of the plant.

Young said the utilities planned to convert the plant to gas power, which would have had some slight benefits in the long run.

But PacifiCorp changed its mind this year and said it would continue using coal, deciding to install carbon capture technology instead.

"That's why Idaho Power gets a bad score in this report, because PacifiCorp - the co-owner - is making these poor decisions about continuing to burn coal past 2030," said Young, "and it's impacting Idaho Power and all of us as the customers and everyone in the region."

Young said Idaho Power should push PacifiCorp away from coal.

"Even though it's not the majority owner and this other utility, PacifiCorp, has most of the final say in what's going to happen with that coal plant," said Young, "Idaho Power does have an opportunity here and a point of leverage to really try to shut that coal plant down, and to stop burning coal at that plant."

She also noted that Idaho Power should not put any barriers in the way of rooftop solar so that households can also be part of the renewable energy change.