Pa. solar energy initiative requires important 'balancing act' - Sharonherald

Pa. solar energy initiative requires important 'balancing act' | Opinion | dailyitem.com

The interests of farmers and insights of wildlife experts should be at the table as Pennsylvania moves forward with plans to significantly increase the number of solar arrays as an environmentally cleaner way to generate electricity.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro Monday unveiled a renewable energy initiative — the Pennsylvania Project to Utilize Light and Solar Energy (PA PULSE).

Under the plan, the state will install 10 new solar arrays around the state — including some in Columbia, Northumberland and Snyder counties — that according to calculations, will generate about 50 percent of the state government’s electrical needs in the future.

“The historic PA PULSE initiative, which began under the previous (Tom Wolf) administration, is proof we can do both — investing in reliable, affordable power in the long term,” the governor said. “With our energy plan and innovative projects like PA PULSE, my administration will create energy jobs, take real action to address climate change pollution, ensure consumers pay less on their bills and continue to ensure Pennsylvania maintains its energy independence for years to come.”

The PA PULSE initiative calls for 10 solar arrays to be built, owned and operated by Lightsource bp, a subsidiary of BP International Ltd., based in London. Under the current plan, the solar arrays will be located in Columbia, Juniata, Crawford, Northumberland, Snyder and York counties. In total, the solar arrays will supply 361,000 megawatt-hours of electrical energy each year to 16 state agencies, making it the largest solar commitment by any U.S. state, administration officials said.

Using solar arrays to generate electricity, the state will reduce its carbon footprint by 157,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year — the equivalent of 34,000 gas-powered cars — and create about 200 jobs, according to the plans. The solar arrays will be set back from nearby property lines and use discreet fencing and tidy landscaping. Many solar farms also become habitats for wildlife and the arrays help prevent erosion.

Grant Gulibon, a regulatory affairs specialist with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, said farming and solar can and do successfully coexist, however the solar arrays must be placed on land with “marginal” agricultural value, not prime farmland.

“Stay off the Class 1, 2 and 3 farmland that has the best soils,” Gulibon said. “We support legislation that would restrict that development to non-prime, marginal types of farmland and keep it off the best farmland.”

Gov. Shapiro acknowledged the importance of prime farmland when asked to comment on the subject. “Obviously, this is a balancing act,” he said.

The others involved in that balancing act might be state lawmakers who draft and vote on legislation to protect prime farmlands and members of the state’s agricultural community, who could help ensure that solar arrays have little to no negative impact on one of the state’s most valuable industries.

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