Growing the market for energy efficiency in PA
KEEA advocates on behalf of energy efficiency professionals on the local, state, and federal levels. By representing the interests of the clean energy industry in Pennsylvania, KEEA is growing the market for energy efficiency and helping the Keystone State secure a prosperous, sustainable tomorrow.
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4.3.2020 | Philadelphia, PA
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Paxton Bucheral, Sustainability & Environmental Compliance Manager, DMI CompaniesAs a manufacturer of energy-saving HVAC ducting products, DMI Companies requires consistent and clear insight into energy regulations and ongoing legislation. Being a member of KEEA provides us an established channel of communication to quickly learn and understand any developments in the energy field. Our KEEA membership allows us to collaborate with a variety of advocates and stakeholders so that we can build our network and strengthen our sustainable impact in our organization and community.
On October 3, 2019, Governor Wolf issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to initiate a rulemaking for Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state compact of Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon pollution. Read more background on the topic and KEEA's issue brief here.
Act 129 is Pennsylvania’s flagship energy efficiency law. Signed into law by Governor Ed Rendell in 2008, the Act requires each of Pennsylvania’s seven major electric distribution companies (EDCs) to reduce energy use within its service territory. In the first seven years of the law, utility programs, to meet reduction targets, have delivered $6.4 billion in benefits to all customer classes.
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), was passed into law as Act 30 in June of 2018. PACE is an energy efficiency and clean energy financing tool that is being used across the country to provide building owners with up-front capital to fund energy efficiency projects and retrofits at existing and new buildings. Once PACE has been implemented by counties and municipalities, it will grow the opportunities for businesses to take advantage of energy efficiency in the Commonwealth.
KEEA is advancing bi-partisan bills in the PA Senate and House of Representatives that would, among other things, lift the investment cap, allowing electricity savings to rise 1.2% over the period 2021–2025. Unconstrained investments in energy efficiency could create more than 30,000 jobs in Pennsylvania.
Revenue decoupling is a form of utility regulation that seeks to better align utility financial incentives with the goal of achieving increased energy efficiency in the Commonwealth. As energy efficiency and other technologies become more common, customers are using less electricity, and saving money on their bills. However, under the Commonwealth’s current cost-of-service utility regulation, when customers consume less electricity, utilities collect less revenue. Therefore, there is little incentive for utilities to grow the efficiency market.
Benchmarking is the practice of comparing the measured performance of a device, process, facility, or organization to itself, its peers, or established norms, with the goal of informing and motivating performance improvement. When applied to building energy use, benchmarking serves as a mechanism to measure energy performance of a single building over time, relative to other similar buildings, or to modeled simulations of a reference building built to a specific standard (such as an energy code).
PA Act 129 rebates totaling $161,000.00 enabled Geisinger, one of PA's largest employers, to install a combined heat & power and steam turbine plant in Danville. This technology is so efficient that it allows Geisinger to power its hospital essentially for free.
Job creator and small business owner Allaina Propst opened her dream business in her hometown of Honesdale, PA. From the start, PPL and Act 129 rebate programs helped her get up and running in brewing and operating a restaurant with all new energy efficient equipment and systems.
Twenty two percent of Pennsylvania's clean energy jobs are in manufacturing energy-saving products such as components of heating and cooling systems. DMI Companies' employees are part of Pennsylvania's 65,000-strong and growing energy efficiency workforce.
Training workers for jobs in a growing industry, serving local communities in need and improving lives through access to energy efficiency, ECA is a regional leader in energy efficiency in Southeast Pennsylvania. ECA has trained nearly 5,000 workers for careers in the growing clean energy and energy efficiency industries.
Four Seasons utilized Act 129 rebates to implement energy efficiency retrofits, such as installing LED lighting and upgrading HVAC systems. This helped reduce energy use by 17 percent, and Four Seasons has been able to reinvest those savings into core operations that support local jobs and economic development.
SMART (Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Union) and SMACNA (Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association) have been providing energy efficiency and clean energy job training to members since Act 129, Pennsylvania's cornerstone energy efficiency policy, was passed. As a result, their members are an integral part of the state's growing clean energy economy.
Employing 250 people in a 225,000 sq. ft. facility, Benton Foundry is a state-of-the-art, fully-automated facility that pours approximately 175 tons of gray and ductile iron per day, with expansion plans to pour 250 tons per day. Specializing in moderate volume parts, Benton Foundry has continuously invested in upgrades to their manufacturing facility through a series of 5-year plans. Receiving $125,000 in rebates through Act 129 for various projects, Benton Foundry saves $174,000 per year on their electric bill.
Ronald McDonald House expands services for families of children with cancer by saving energy and money with energy efficient upgrades through Act 129 programs, in existing building retrofits and new construction.
Brubaker Farms is a family-owned dairy farm in Lancaster County, PA committed to investing in energy efficiency, improving sustainability, and keeping their cows happy.
Sota Construction Services is a full service construction company located in Pittsburgh, PA specializing in sustainable construction practices that are also affordable for the developer and mixed-income tenants.
Spooky Nook Sports is the largest indoor sports facility in North America located in Manheim, PA. They were able to upgrade all their lighting to high efficiency LED with the assistance of A1 Energy and Act 129 rebates.
68,820+
EE Jobs in PA
11
Years of Act 129
45%
Construction EE Jobs
6%
Clean Energy Industry Growth/Year
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct 3, 2019 Contact: Julian Boggs, KEEA Policy Director, 215-910-4790, jboggs@keealliance.org Greenhouse Gas Initiative Historic Opportunity…
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