Rooftop Solar is Lagging Behind in Pennsylvania

Between 2017 and 2022, small-scale solar in Pennsylvania grew 2.3 times, according to our new report Rooftop Solar on the Rise. While any growth in solar is good, Pennsylvania isn’t keeping up with our neighboring states – especially success stories in the region like New Jersey and New York. Each state produced about 4 times as much power from small-scale solar as Pennsylvania in 2022. In total, small-scale solar in Pennsylvania generated only enough electricity to power 75,473, or about 1.3%, of Pennsylvania homes in 2022 – 809 GWh of electricity. 

To jumpstart clean solar energy production across Pennsylvania, solar experts recommend renewing and expanding the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS). The AEPS requires all electricity suppliers in Pennsylvania to get a certain percentage of their energy from wind and solar power, yet the program’s clean energy requirements flatlined in May 2021. Advocates are calling on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to renew the AEPS and increase the clean energy requirements for solar and wind energy to at least 30% by 2030. Two bills currently introduced in the state legislature would achieve these goals, Senate Bill 230 (Sen. Santarsiero), and House Bill 1467 (Rep. Danielle Friel-Otten).

In addition to state policies, governments should also encourage individuals, organizations and businesses to take advantage of the incentives for rooftop solar in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, including: federal tax credits for 30% of the cost of a rooftop solar investment for homeowners, electricity production tax credits for businesses for the first 10 years of a solar system’s use, and full value direct payments equivalent to the tax credits for churches and other nonprofits. With these opportunities at both the state and federal level, now is the time for Pennsylvania to go big on solar.