The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, much like the entirety of the U.S., is experiencing a major shift in its energy landscape. Although this transition has been occurring for decades, shifting energy economics, an ever more present climate metric, and the demands of carbon-conscious consumers, are now combining with new political realities to accelerate this transition. Pennsylvania, as the largest energy-exporting state, has been at the center of this transition over the last 10 years, with new supplies of low-cost shale gas supplanting coal power generation out of the market. Although shale gas will continue to be a key component of the nation’s energy profile for the foreseeable future, renewable energy sources, particularly utility-scale solar, are now emerging as a significant source of new power generation that can both compete on price and achieve carbon reduction objectives.
While most of the focus on the energy transition has been at the federal and state level, a growing chorus of questions and concerns on how to best accommodate this solar energy expansion are being voiced by public and private stakeholders at the grassroots level. This is a primary challenge to the energy transition given the role that local governments and communities play in hosting, permitting, and regulating utility-scale solar projects. Unlike industrial-scale thermal energy projects, which are often located in industrial corridors, solar projects are sited primarily in rural communities that have limited experience with this type of infrastructure. As a result, the ability of local governments to permit these solar projects in a manner that is welcomed and trusted by the local community, through a supplementary zoning code referred to as a “solar ordinance”, is critically important if solar energy is to deliver on its promise as a sustainable and affordable energy future.
In response to these local concerns, early outreach efforts are being conducted by Penn State Extension, the Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR), Penn State Dickinson Law, Penn State Law, and associated partners. This outreach has identified key gaps in the knowledge base of municipal and county officials now facing proposals to develop utility-scale solar. Currently, there are over 200 utility-scale project proposals spread across PA in the PJM queue, awaiting a determination allowing connection to the grid. For these projects to go forward, solar developers need the predictability that comes from a comprehensive solar ordinance, especially since leases with local landowners are often conditioned on such ordinances being passed. Similarly, in order to obtain a “social” license, local governments must satisfy their residents, many of whom are increasingly voicing demands to protect their property, agricultural, economic and environmental interests. Combined with the technical challenges involved in understanding and regulating the increasingly diverse permutations of large solar systems (stand-alone, solar+battery, solar+gas hybrids, etc), local officials are facing a truly daunting challenge in the regulation of these projects, a challenge that will only grow as solar energy takes on a larger share of the energy market.
