Regional Energy Survey: Key Opportunities and Challenges in Pennsylvania's Energy Sector

Recognizing Southwestern Pennsylvania’s potential as a leading energy center but also the lack of comprehensive understanding of the region’s energy portfolio among policy makers, the Institute of Politics Environment Policy Committee in late 2009 commissioned a substantial survey of regional energy assets. The Committee hoped that a broad survey of economic and environmental implications for Pennsylvania’s energy sources would provide a needed and appropriate baseline document for use in ongoing and future discussions of how best to manage, incentivize, and regulate energy in our state. This document is the result of that survey and it is the culmination of extensive research, interviews, and information collected on our various energy sectors. The Environment Policy Committee does not intend to pick winners and losers or to determine outcomes; rather, Committee members hope to make a substantial informational contribution to continuing policy debates on these topics. Five key energy sectors were identified as presenting the most economic and environmental opportunities for the region: coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, and wind. An overview of the most prevailing viewpoints, salient facts, and critical issues follows