The fast-growing clean-energy industry has become a powerful job engine in Pennsylvania and offers significant opportunities to further drive economic growth. In Pennsylvania, the clean-energy sector in 2016 employed more than 70,000 workers, a number which has consistently risen over the past few years, according to the business groups Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) and Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance. This figure is twice that of the fossil-fuel sector, according to a recent U.S. Department of Energy report.
Unfortunately, these clean-energy opportunities are threatened by drastic cuts proposed in the president’s budget request and in legislation recently passed in the House of Representatives to fund the DOE. At risk are programs that produce jobs, reduce pollution, save consumers money and ensure a reliable electric grid. Pennsylvanians will feel the pain of these cuts.
The president’s budget proposes to eliminate weatherization assistance, which eases the burden of high energy bills on low-income residents. Utility-bill savings help struggling families pay for necessities such as food and medicine, which is especially critical in Pennsylvania, where Pittsburgh and Philadelphia rank among the top 10 U.S. cities when it comes to the strain that energy costs place on low-income families. These families generally spend a large percentage of their incomes on energy because they live in older homes with inefficient appliances and heating systems.
The proposed budget cuts also threaten the Better Buildings Initiative and Portfolio Manager, voluntary programs that have cut energy use in thousands of Pennsylvania buildings. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are among the many cities nationally that have committed to reducing energy consumption and costs while saving taxpayers’ money under these programs.
Also targeted for termination is the State Energy Program, which helps states prepare for and respond to energy emergencies. It also promotes job-generating clean-energy and energy-efficiency projects. Pennsylvania has used the program’s funding to leverage private and state capital, creating more than 4,000 jobs.
Other programs that could be eliminated include the highly successful appliance-efficiency standards program. Improving the efficiency of appliances and equipment saved Pennsylvanians more than $3 billion on utility bills in 2015, an average of $480 per household. All told, programs in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy boast a 20 percent annual return on investment.
When consumers save money on energy, they have more to spend on other goods and services, further boosting our state economy.
It makes no sense for a president who touts his business acumen to propose budget cuts that would stifle one of the most promising sources of job growth. Slashing the budget of the nation’s largest funder of clean-energy innovation threatens to put businesses in Pennsylvania and other states at a disadvantage when competing against China and other nations that are ramping up clean-energy investments.
These investments create jobs and do not harm the regional fossil-fuel industry. If Pennsylvania is to take advantage of the significant economic opportunities offered by clean energy and energy efficiency, the Department of Energy’s vital work must be preserved and strengthened, not dismantled.
Marc Mondor is a principal and co-founder of evolveEA, a Pittsburgh-based architecture firm that specializes in sustainable design, and chair of government affairs for American Institute of Architects Pennsylvania.
First Published: August 13, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
