What does that mean for the Keystone State? It means we are less likely to attract a major solar-related economic-development project - or to keep the more than 600 solar businesses we already have, which offer jobs in research, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance.
If we want to keep those businesses and the jobs they support, we must create a business environment that helps them expand and attracts companies that are looking to relocate.
That's why we must increase solar energy's share in the state's alternative-energy portfolio standards. Passed by the legislature in 2004, the standards jump-started a green revolution that has made Pennsylvania one of the leading states in renewable-energy development. Twenty-five thousand Pennsylvanians are working in renewable-energy jobs, while the state's consumers and businesses have invested at least $600 million in solar-energy projects.
House Bill 2405 would wisely increase Pennsylvania's solar requirement to 3 percent, but support for the bill has been hard to come by in the legislature. Even so, a more modest increase would still be worthwhile. A 1.5 percent target, for example, would triple our existing requirement and make Pennsylvania more competitive in the sector.
There are billions of dollars being invested in the solar-energy industry. Despite the global recession, the American solar industry grew substantially in 2009, with revenues increasing by 36 percent and generating capacity by 37 percent over the previous year. What's more, the investment community is bullish when it comes to solar; venture capitalists, sensing its incredible growth potential, invested $1.4 billion in the industry last year.
