PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania often gets "a pretty bad rap" as the fossil fuel state, Ellie Kerns said Tuesday morning.
- PennEnvironment on Tuesday launched an interactive map of efficient and renewable energy projects across the state
- In the Lehigh Valley, a net zero office building and solar farm were highlighted
- The nonprofit hopes to change the state's reputation from fossil-fuel dependent to hub for renewable energy
“We really wanted to change the narrative and show people like no, there is solar, there is wind, there's energy efficiency in every single corner of Pennsylvania,” said Kerns, a climate field organizer with PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center. “Red, blue and purple counties, suburban, urban and rural — everywhere in Pennsylvania — if you look for it, there is renewable energy and there's clean energy, there's energy efficiency.
“And we really just wanted to emphasize that and show people like, no, we're not just the fossil fuel state that you think of,” she continued. “We really have a future, like a clear future, for 100% renewable energy, and we are only growing in all of that.”
To illustrate efficient and renewable energy projects across the commonwealth, PennEnvironment on Tuesday released “Clean Energy Commonwealth” — an interactive map highlighting one project in each of the state’s 67 counties. Advocates hope it will help spur clean energy and renewable growth statewide, from individuals to companies and nonprofits.
Two sites in the Lehigh Valley were included on the map — a zero energy office building in Schnecksville, Lehigh County, and Crayola’s solar farm in Forks Township, Northampton County. The two projects eliminate emissions equivalent to taking 28 and 855 cars, respectively, off the road for a year, according to PennEnvironment.
The Schnecksville office, which also serves as Sustainable Energy Fund’s headquarters, is the first net zero building in the region, meaning it generates more energy than it consumes. The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce held a Sept. 2021 ribbon-cutting to celebrate.
Utilizing a high performance envelope and a building designed to face the sun, this all-electric building generates 20% more energy than it uses every year using roof-mounted solar panels.Andrew Schuster, principal of Ashley McGraw Architects
“The Sustainable Energy Fund office building demonstrates the feasibility of net-zero energy at commercial construction costs,” said Andrew Schuster, principal of Ashley McGraw Architects, the firm that designed it. “Utilizing a high performance envelope and a building designed to face the sun, this all-electric building generates 20% more energy than it uses every year using roof-mounted solar panels.
“All of the building systems are off the shelf, market ready technologies.”
Crayola’s solar wind farm includes over 30,000 panels on 20-acres of land.
LehighValleyNews.com has reached out to Crayola for comment on inclusion on PennEnvironment’s map.
“We really focused on finding local projects that were unique, that were in communities and benefiting people in those communities,” said Kerns. “For some of them, they're a little bit larger, like wind farms that spanned entire counties, where we really wanted to engage with a variety of different types of projects. We have green roofs and solar and wind and all types of energy efficiency.
“And we also really tried to engage with project owners and developers who were really excited to be included when we reached out and we're very interested in just sharing their project with the rest of Pennsylvania.”
