The Washington Examiner covered the potential impact of advanced energy stimulus in Pennsylvania, quoting AEE's Daniel Bloom. Read excerpts below and the full piece here. The Center Square story was published by 9 other news outlets including WFMZ-TV News here.
Clean energy has the potential to be a leading driver of economic growth for Pennsylvania as it recovers from the pandemic, according to a new report from the national business group Advanced Energy Economy. Under a scenario where Pennsylvania receives a $50 billion stimulus investment, the report says the state would achieve an economic return of $400 billion. This scenario would also yield $20 billion in annual consumer savings and more than $20 billion in additional tax revenue.
The report allocates the funding toward renewable resources, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, grid monetization, energy storage, high voltage transmission and building electrification...
Daniel Bloom, principal at Advanced Energy Economy, said the analysis points to Pennsylvania as “one of the strongest returns on investment with an eight-fold economic impact...”
“Given its strong manufacturing legacy, plus a broad and diverse base of companies and supply-chain, Pennsylvania is well-positioned to expand advanced energy,” Bloom says.
The analysis also suggests that Pennsylvania is uniquely poised to leverage electric transportation growth. About 150 firms currently operate in the state’s electric transportation supply chain.
“Our recent report found that more than 350 Pennsylvania firms, many of them in industries and geographies that have seen significant declines in recent years, could easily transition to serving the supply chain for electric vehicles, which is expected to grow at a rapid rate in the coming years,” Bloom said...
Reports like the one from Advanced Energy Economy make the case that Pennsylvania can transition to cleaner, safer energy production and create jobs in the process.
“It is a fact that advanced energy jobs have been growing – twice as fast as Pa. jobs overall last year – while we would expect to see some fossil fuel jobs, especially coal, to decline,” Bloom says.
Bloom adds that the current number of advanced energy workers in the state is already “more than those working in fabricated metals manufacturing and twice those working in hotels and motels.”
“When the state legislature and governor are considering pathways for putting those that find themselves unemployed because of COVID back to work, EV supply chain companies including manufacturing, operation and maintenance, and wholesale trade and distribution should be considered for key stimulus actions,” Bloom says.
Read the full Washington Examiner piece here.