GOOD NEWS! The Pennsylvania Legislature passed the Solar for Schools bill (HB 1032) with broad bipartisan support yesterday afternoon, June 29, 2023. However, despite yesterday’s success, your help is needed! Here is the link for information about HB 1032 to be accessed in the website:
.
The Pennsylvania Audubon Council Renewable Energy Committee urges our network of Pennsylvania Audubon Chapters to turn their attention to the State Senate! We urge each of our chapter leaders, board members, chapter conservation and advocacy committee members, and general membership to encourage the State Senate to bring forward and pass HB1032 before the legislature adjourns for summer recess. Find your State Senator at https://www.pasen.gov/
Wyncote Audubon is acting on the Council’s request and is asking our Wyncote Audubon Advocates to reach out to their state senators and urge them to act on the Solar for Schools Program! It is most effective to reach out via a personal email, a telephone call, a visit to the district office, or via a letter on your chapter letterhead to request that they move this legislation ahead.
If passed, the Solar for Pennsylvania Schools Program would issue grants to public schools and community colleges so that they could construct solar energy arrays. The program would fund 50% of the cost of project construction. Federal money from the Inflation Reduction Act would cover 30-50% of installation costs, with school districts responsible for 0-20%, plus operation and maintenance costs.
If implemented, the program would provide a multitude of benefits to Pennsylvanians. It would save school districts and taxpayers money, create family-sustaining jobs, and increase the amount of clean, pollution-free energy coming onto the grid. . Generation180, a clean energy nonprofit, has documented that solar installments at K-12 schools in Pennsylvania nearly doubled from 2020-22 and that using solar energy to power school buildings results in cost savings, energy independence, training for energy and agricultural careers, hands-on STEM education, and civic engagement. Districts that have installed solar installations across the country report substantial savings from reduced electrical bills.
The Pennsylvania Audubon Council recognizes that measures like Solar for Pennsylvania Schools offers a responsible pathway toward reducing our reliance on fossil fuels that contribute to climate change and the adverse impact on our climate threatened birds!
ACT NOW – TIMING IS AN IMPERATIVE!
