Siting Reform in Pennsylvania Can Help Make Energy More Affordable

Pennsylvania utilities are projecting annual electricity demand to increase by 50% in just the next five years. At the same time, residential customers are facing rising electricity bills. Low-cost energy sources can help make energy more affordable in Pennsylvania, but local siting processes are restricting new energy buildout.

Synapse has prepared a report for Advanced Energy United on how local siting reform in Pennsylvania can increase clean energy buildout while reducing customer electricity bills. Focusing on solar projects, Synapse identified cases in which restrictive solar ordinances have forced cancellations and delays for new energy development. Synapse found that 10 counties and 187 municipalities have ordinances with provisions that restrict solar development, such as through large setbacks, zoning restrictions, and other types of site requirements. However, Synapse estimated that if 1% of land in the 10 counties with restrictive solar ordinances were available for utility-scale solar development, this could unlock 8-12 GW of clean energy capacity. Additional firm capacity can drive PJM capacity market prices down, and zero-marginal-cost renewables can drive down energy prices, leading to lower customer electricity bills.

In addition, Synapse found that expanding battery energy storage in Pennsylvania in line with introduced legislation (HB 2380) can reduce electric system costs for customers. Taking into account both the additional clean energy capacity that could be unlocked by siting reform, as well as additional battery storage from introduced legislation, Synapse estimated that typical Pennsylvania households could save $225 per year by 2029.

You can read the report here.