Pennsylvania

Why lawmakers want to bring ‘community solar’ to Pennsylvania

Published

2 years ago

February 24, 2024

Why lawmakers want to bring ‘community solar’ to Pennsylvania

This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.

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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.

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Pennsylvania

Bill would create alert when children with autism go missing in Pennsylvania

Published

12 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Bill would create alert when children with autism go missing in Pennsylvania

(WHTM) — Legislation is in the works for a statewide warning system to locate missing children with autism.

State Rep. Robert Leadbeter (R-Columbia County) announced the formal introduction of a bill to create a “Purple Alert” system. It would quickly notify police and community members when a child with autism, or other cognitive issues, is missing.

His bill is called “Aiden’s Law,” named for a young boy in Columbia County, who disappeared earlier this year and drowned in the Susquehanna River. Leadbeter said a “Purple Alert” system would fill a gap in Pennsylvania.

“So, individuals with cognitive disabilities are able to then, if they go missing, have an alert go out to law enforcement organizations that work directly with them and that’ll save time expand resources, and ideally result in a safe return home for the missing individual,” Leadbeter said.

In this bill, the system would mirror others like Amber Alerts for missing children in danger and Silver Alerts for missing seniors.

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Pennsylvania

Bethlehem man sentenced under Pennsylvania’s new AI child porn law

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Bethlehem man sentenced under Pennsylvania’s new AI child porn law

A Bethlehem man is among the first to be sentenced under a Pennsylvania law passed last year, making it a crime to possess AI-generated child sex abuse material.

On Monday, Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kristie M. Marks sentenced 35-year-old Adam Erdman to two years, four months to 10 years.

Erdman in September pleaded guilty to felony possessing child sex abuse material. He faced a possible sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan announced the sentencing in a news conference Monday afternoon. The DA credited U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who introduced the new legislation and state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, who championed the final version of the law last year.

“Before this law was passed, the use of AI to generate child sexual abuse materials went unpunished,” Holihan said. “Prosecutors like me need legislation like this to arrest and convict the criminals who use evolving technology to victimize others.”

Macungie-based attorney Michael Ira Stump, representing Erdman, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Tuesday morning.

Bethlehem police on March 31 were called by Erdman’s estranged wife, who reported finding three AI-generated nude images of juvenile girls on his personal computer.

Prosecutors said Erdman downloaded photos of the children on vacation from their parent’s social media account, and then used artificial intelligence photo-editing software to make the children appear naked.

Erdman was charged on April 17.

The case was investigated by Bethlehem Police Det. Stephen Ewald and was prosecuted by Lehigh County Senior Deputy District Attorney Sarah K. Heimbach.

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Pennsylvania

Central Pennsylvania awarded over $1M for Chesapeake Bay Watershed conservation

Published

2 days ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Central Pennsylvania awarded over M for Chesapeake Bay Watershed conservation

PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — Over $17 million has been awarded to county teams across the Commonwealth for projects in reducing nutrient and sediment pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Grants were awarded to counties with projects taking place over the next 12 to 24 months. Many different human activities cause nutrient pollution and eroded sediment to enter streams, rivers, and lakes. This pollution can come from fertilizer, plowing and tilling farm fields and can cause stripping away of trees and vegetation, and increasing paved surfaces.

Here are the grants awarded in our area:

Blair County Conservation District: $308,095
Cambria County Conservation District: $200,000
Centre County Government: $566,399
Clearfield County Conservation District: $368,209
Huntingdon County Conservation District: $409,134

“Pennsylvania’s clean water successes are rooted in collaboration—state, local, federal, legislative, and non-governmental partners, and of course landowners,” Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Jessica Shirley said. “The work will continue to evolve, and our focus will remain on setting our collaborative partnerships up for success well beyond 2025. The momentum is real, and you can see it in our improved water quality.”

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In total, 222 projects were approved, and it’s estimated to reduce nitrogen by 113,493 pounds/year, phosphorus by 28,816 pounds/year, and sediment delivered to the Chesapeake Bay by 1.8 million pounds/year.

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