Pennsylvania
Why lawmakers want to bring ‘community solar’ to Pennsylvania
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In Pennsylvania, more solar panels are installed on the roofs of homes and in utility-scale solar farms each year.
But an increasingly popular third model — which boosters say “democratizes” solar energy — has yet to get off the ground.
At least 24 states, including Delaware and New Jersey, have passed legislation enabling a type of solar energy development known as community solar. For years, state lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to add Pennsylvania to this list. With more federal incentives available for solar development through Biden’s 2022 climate bill, proponents say now is the time.
“I don’t want this money to just go to large industry that is looking to do solar,” said state Rep. Peter Schweyer (D-Allentown). “I want to make sure everybody gets at least a bite of the apple.”
What is community solar?
While traditional residential rooftop solar is owned or leased by a single household, electricity from a community solar project is shared by several customers, known as subscribers.
“Community solar allows them to pool their money together and invest in a solar system, normally on a parking structure, empty lot — anywhere really that’s available,” said Moises Morales, who supervised the installation of community solar projects in Washington, D.C. and now works as lead instructor at solar installation and training company Solar States in Philly. “It allows them to buy in and then share the benefits.”
A community solar installation does not need to be located right where its subscribers live.
“The power [subscribers use] is always going to come from the grid,” Morales said. “The system that gets installed is feeding the power into the grid and it just goes where it’s needed. The grid doesn’t know what’s renewable and what’s not. … You’re just kind of feeding the power back into the grid and offsetting what you’re using.”
Community solar installations can be owned by a group of neighbors, a church or other nonprofit, a third-party solar development company, or a utility. Electricity generated by the installation enters the grid, and subscribers to the project receive a credit on their electricity bills proportional to the share of the project they lease or own.
“You pay an annual subscription fee and the cost of the power from that project shows up on your utility bill,” said Emily Schapira, president of the Philadelphia Energy Authority. The quasi-governmental authority runs Solarize Philly — a discount program that offers leasing options for rooftop solar in Philly.
Community solar capitalizes on economies of scale, Schapira said.
“It’s cheaper to install a larger scale solar project per kilowatt than it would be for your own roof,” she said.
Home care for aging parents, adults with disabilities in Philadelphia
Leaders at the Pennsylvania Homecare Association, which represents about 700 home care, home health and hospice agencies, say the industry’s workforce, about 290,000 people, is not growing at the same pace as the client population.
Low pay, moderate benefits and high burnout are making it increasingly hard to attract and retain workers, said association leaders, who estimate more than 112,000 direct care shifts go unfilled every month because of shortages.
“When you already can’t find somebody to do the work and then you’re not paying those folks well, those folks can go somewhere else and make more money,” Harris said. “Then you have more people who should be getting services, who need those services, who aren’t.”
Harris, who represents parts of South and West Philadelphia, recently met with families who depend on home care services, like the Walker family.
A home care worker comes by a couple times a week to support Barbara Walker’s adult son, Anthony, who has an intellectual and developmental disability.
In the past, Walker said she would often have to take off from work to stay home if Anthony was having a bad day or needed specialized services.
“It was hard. It was really hard,” she said. “It took a whole lot of time and patience.”
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would raise the minimum wage statewide.
The bill would raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $11 per hour starting Jan. 1, 2027. The minimum wage would then increase to $13 per hour in 2028 and finally $15 per hour in 2029.
Representatives voted 104-95 to pass House Bill 2189, which is sponsored by Rep. Jason Dawkins, the House Democratic Communications Office announced Tuesday.
If the bill passes, counties would have the option to implement the $15 per hour minimum wage sooner than 2029. The bill would also set the minimum wage for tipped employees at 60% of the statewide minimum wage.
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage was last raised in 2009 when the federal minimum wage was increased to $7.25, House Democrats wrote in a press release.
The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration.
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“Research shows that increasing the minimum wage does not lead to job losses or business closures,” Dawkins said. “What it does lead to is financial security and better life outcomes for families relying on minimum wage work. To my colleagues in the Senate, I implore you to take up this bill and finally raise the wage in Pennsylvania.”
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — In an attempt to protect and preserve a healthy tree canopy for communities across the Commonwealth, a Pennsylvania lawmaker is taking action.
Rep. Abigail Salisbury (D-Allegheny) previously introduced House Bill 2161, which would require utility companies to plant a new tree for each one they cut down within two years of cutting it down.
“I introduced this bill after residents and environmental advocates in our district expressed concerns that trees were being removed entirely, instead of simply being pruned or trimmed,” Salisbury said. “Maintaining a healthy tree canopy is essential for communities because it reduces stormwater runoff and air pollution, provides shade that lowers energy costs, raises property values, and increases pedestrian traffic for local businesses, among other benefits.
On Monday, the Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee voted to advance the bill to the House for consideration, according to legislative records.
“Monday’s committee action moved us a step closer to making sure those benefits continue,” Salisbury added.
Electric utilities would be required to plant a new one in a location that the municipality chooses.
She said her bill would align with existing regulations that require damage caused by utility work to be repaired, primarily work that would require excavation or other projects that break into streets and sidewalks.
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