Environmental Law

Wind Power Growing in Pennsylvania

By M. Joel Bolstein

Pennsylvania has been promoting itself as the largest provider of wind energy on the East Coast.  On May 22, Duke Energy announced that it was acquiring a 70 Megawatt (MW) wind project in Blair and Cambria counties consisting of 35 wind turbines.  To date, Pennsylvania has 366 MW of energy being generated from wind energy projects.  PA currently ranks 17th in existing wind energy capacity, and while it is a long way behind Texas that generates 8,203 MW of wind energy, PA has doubled its wind energy output over the last two years.

Under the PA Energy Portfolio Standards Act, 18% of all electricity sold in PA must come from alternative sources by 2021, and 8% must come from renewable sources like wind and solar.  According to the American Wind Energy Association, PA has the potential to generate 5,120 MW of wind energy.  With that much untapped potential, it's likely that developers will continue to  look for opportunities for wind energy projects in PA. 

Large landowners, including those holding former mining or greyfield properties, should be looking to see whether they are in an area suitable for a wind energy project.  They can do so by consulting the PA wind map at www.pawindmap.org.  A variety of federal and state grant, tax credit, and loan programs are available for wind energy projects.  In November 2006, Pennsylvania enacted legislation providing that wind turbines and related equipment may not be counted by tax assessors when setting property values.  Information on incentives for renewable energy projects can be found at www.newpa.com.    

Among other permitting requirements, wind energy projects in Pennsylvania are subject to traditional land use and zoning laws and ordinances.  Although PADEP has a model ordinance on its website, municipalities are free to draft their own ordinances using their police powers, so developers need to work with the local municipality to determine if any impediments exist to siting.  

Given the need for energy companies to add wind generation to their portfolios and the potential for a 15 fold increase based on potential wind capacity in the Commonwealth, there should be a steady and growing number of wind energy projects being developed in PA.  

Full post as published by PA Brownfields Environmental Law on June 05, 2009 (boomark / email).