For Immediate Release Contact: Jan Marie Rushforth, Rushforth Solar 610-520-1968
Jan@RushforthSolar.com – www.RushforthSolar.com
Ron Ruman, PBLCEE, 717-724-1681, rruman@shellycommunications.com
Philadelphia Solar Project Points Way to Job Creation, Energy Cost Savings, More Energy Security if Congress Passes Bi-Partisan American Power Act
PHILADELPHIA (May 7) – Area clean energy business and government leaders today literally shouted from the rooftops in northeast Philadelphia to tout a local solar project as an example of how the proposed American Power Act, creating a national policy supporting renewable, American energy would lead to jobs, energy cost savings, and more energy security for Pennsylvania and the nation.
This Solar Hot Water project consists of 24, 4×10-foot solar panels installed by Rushforth Solar, LLC, of Bryn Mawr, Delaware County, on the roof of the Fountain Garden Apartments on Welsh Road in northeast Philadelphia. Company officials believe it is the largest apartment building Solar Hot Water project in the Philadelphia area at 100 feet long.
“This project supported jobs at our company and for our suppliers, and is substantially cutting energy costs for this large apartment building,” said Jan Marie Rushforth of Rushforth Solar. “By harnessing clean renewable energy available right here in Pennsylvania, we also help reduce the money we send abroad to buy fossil fuels.”
The American Power Act is a bi-partisan proposal sponsored by U.S. Senators John Kerry/ (D) Massachusetts, Lindsey Graham/(R) South Carolina, and Joe Lieberman/ (I) Connecticut. It would place a gradually declining cap on dangerous carbon emissions by fossil fuel power plants and a few large industrial emitters, though more than 98 percent of U.S. companies would not be regulated. Polluters would pay a price, set by the open market, on the carbon they do emit. This would lead to more use of renewable energy as power plants and other companies reduce their carbon emissions. A portion of the fee polluters pay for carbon emissions would be returned to consumers to help pay their energy costs.
“A large Solar Hot Water system like this saves energy, saves emissions, and is a step in the right direction. Doing a lot more projects like this would spur the economy and be good for the environment,” said Alan Rushforth, President of Rushforth Solar. “The scientists are saying we have no time to lose in weaning ourselves from fossil fuel. No informed person can ignore the damage from dirty coal and oil. Even natural gas involves fracturing and polluting water tables in PA, so all fossil fuels have harmful impacts. This bill encourages conservation, clean renewable energy, reductions in carbon emissions, and is a good step in the right direction.”
The Rushforths noted suppliers, such as Hickory Ridge Radiant, and Weinstein Supply, would see more demand from solar installers, which could lead to more local hiring.
“I found Jan Marie and Alan Rushforth to be exceptionally professional, thorough and a pleasure to work with. I am already registered for our next community, a 100 apartments in South Philadelphia, part of the larger Gateway Tower community,” said Alan Lindy, Lindy Property Management. “For both Fountain Gardens and Gateway Towers, I’m projecting a 50% savings of gas consumption to heat hot water and a payback period of 6-8 years, maybe less.”
Fountain Gardens apartment complex is projected to save approximately $12,613 per year to heat water in the building with the solar system and high efficiency heaters. The cost of the installation totaled $115,500. Federal subsidies covered 30 percent of the solar cost, or $32,550; a Pennsylvania Sunshine Program subsidy paid another $20,000; and a Sustainable Development Fund subsidy covered $3,850, bringing the actual cost to the business to $59,100.
With the projected energy cost savings, this project should pay for itself in just 5.1 years. Even without subsidies, the payback time would have been 9.3 years. The lower operating costs also will increase the building’s property value by an estimated $168,000.
“Lindy Properties deserves acknowledgement for being a green leader in their field. With the implementation of the American Power Act, we would expect to see more such projects to become more prevalent and main stream,” said Jan Rushforth. “It would mean more jobs locally, help businesses and homeowners lower their energy costs, and help Americans take control of our energy future, by keeping more of our energy dollars at home. In a world where we mourn the fallen Coal Miners in West Virginia and face 5,000 barrels of oil per day gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, it’s comforting to promote clean green Solar Hot Water. ”
Energy Institute of America figures show Pennsylvanians spend about $10 billion a year on foreign energy. Rushforth Solar called on Pennsylvania senators Arlen Specter and Robert Casey, Jr., to support the American Power Act, and urged Senate leaders to bring the bill before the full Senate as quickly as possible.
Business leaders are invited to visit www.PennCleanEconomy.biz, join this site and add their voices to the call for greater use of clean, American energy, new jobs, and a more secure energy future for America.
Northeastern Pennsylvania Business Leaders Hear How Bi-Partisan American Power Act Will Create Jobs, Enhance Energy Security In Region
National, Local Clean Energy Leaders Tout Benefits of Senate Bill To Be Introduced Next Week
Contact: Ronald Ruman, PBLCEE
717-724-1681
rruman@shellycommunications.com
SCRANTON (April 23) – A leading national expert and a local clean energy business executive today told more than two dozen Northeastern Pennsylvania business, civic, and political leaders how this region would benefit through new jobs and enhanced energy security from a bi-partisan pollution reduction and clean energy bill to be put before the U.S. Senate next week.
“The American Power Act will mean more jobs for northeastern Pennsylvania in manufacturing, distribution, installation, and all across the board as utilities and other businesses look to clean, home-grown energy sources such as solar, wind, hyrdo, and bio-mass to meet the pollution reduction requirements of the law,” said Jackie Roberts, Director of Sustainable Technologies for the Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. “Area businesses in these sectors will hire more workers as demand for their products and services increases, as will regional companies in the energy efficiency sector, including areas such as insulation, energy efficient windows, energy efficient lighting, cool roofs, green building design, and others.”
Roberts told area leaders at a roundtable sponsored by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance and Pennsylvania Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy the proposal to be introduced next week is sponsored by senators John Kerry, (D) Massachusetts, Lindsey Graham/(R) South Carolina, and Joe Lieberman, (I) Connecticut. She said the bill will place a cap on carbon emissions from power plants, pollution which causes respiratory and exacerbates heart problems for people, especially young children, senior citizens, and people with conditions such as asthma.
“Putting a cap which will gradually lower over time on these dangerous carbon emissions will finally put a true price on what power generated with fossil fuels costs, and will spur utilities and other companies to make greater use of clean, American power sources available right here in northeastern Pennsylvania, such as solar and wind.”
Deana Kilmer of Green Field Energy Solutions in Mayfield, which installs small wind turbines to provide off-the-grid electricity for homes, farms, and small businesses, said encouraging more use of renewable, American energy means more business for her firm.
“If we’re designing and installing more wind energy systems, we’ll need more workers here in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Kilmer said. “The people we buy from, who make the blades, the steel for the blades, generators, bolts, gears, cement bases, and more, will also hire more workers if we’re placing more orders with them.”
Roberts told the roundtable meeting the jobs created are ones Pennsylvania workers have the skills to do today, noting as an example installing solar panels requires the same know how as building construction. Jobs created would include carpenters, welders, pipefitters, as well as designers, distributors and truckers to get the materials to the site.
“The real boon for area jobs is the potential not just for new construction, but for retrofitting existing structures as well,” Roberts said.
Roberts noted the bill is a comprehensive American energy development proposal, also calling for more drilling for offshore oil and greater support for more nuclear power, along with funding to develop cleaner ways to burn coal.
“With all this energy competition, costs are expected to remain in check, with several studies showing very modest energy price increases for both homes and businesses,” Roberts said. “Those modest increases do not take into account homes or businesses putting in place any energy efficiency measures, such as installing new windows, energy efficient appliances, or heating systems. The bill will likely contain incentives to do this, so many consumers, both residential and commercial, could see energy costs decline,” she said.
Businesses interested learning more can contact Pennsylvania Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy at www.penncleaneconomy.biz.
Strong Clean Energy Policies Will Grow the Economy and Create 78,000 New Jobs in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Business Leaders Release New Jobs Report
The Day Before Senate Hearings Start
Pittsburgh, October 26, 2009: On the eve of U.S. Senate deliberations on clean energy and climate legislation, Pennsylvania business leaders released a new economic analysis that finds the strongest federal policy could create up to 78,000 jobs in Pennsylvania, while increasing real household income by $1,092 and growing the state economy by $4.3 billion. The new study, co-released with E2, the national investor coalition Ceres and the Clean Economy Network, was conducted by the University of California in collaboration with University of Illinois and Yale University and provides an in-depth, state-by-state examination of the impacts of the three pillars of federal legislation: energy efficiency, renewable energy and limits on carbon pollution.
“This report shows that the stronger the federal energy and climate policies, the more Pennsylvania stands to gain economically,” said Matthew Mehalik, PhD, Program Manager for Sustainable Pittsburgh and also lead for the Pennsylvania Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy (PBLCEE). “Those who say we cannot afford to take action now do not understand the opportunity we stand to lose by not acting. There is an emerging multibillion dollar global clean energy market and Pennsylvania is poised to capture it.”
Using EAGLE, a new state-of-the-art forecasting model, the study assesses the economic impact on the state of Pennsylvania of climate and energy policies currently being considered by Congress. The study models both moderate and aggressive implementation of policies that set strong standards for and provide incentives for greater investments in renewable energy, that set standards for energy efficiency and create a market-based program to reduce carbon emissions.
Key Pennsylvania findings include:
- Aggressive policy implementation creates greater economic and job growth in Pennsylvania by 2020 than would moderate or no implementation
- The strongest policies could generate up to 78,000 additional jobs in Pennsylvania, increase Pennsylvania’s real Gross Domestic Product by $4.3 billion more than it would be without climate and energy policy, and increase real household income by $1,092 per year (as measured in 2008 dollars) by 2020
- Even moderate implementation drives economic growth in Pennsylvania, generating $2.4 billion in additional GDP, 46,000 additional new jobs and $637 in additional household income
- Interestingly, the more carbon-dependent state economies have more to gain from climate action, assuming they adopt balanced policies that combine all three pillars (energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon pollution limits)
According to the study, Clean Energy and Climate Policy for US Growth and Job Creation: An Economic Assessment of the American Clean Energy and Security Act and the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, the legislation would create between 918,000 and 1.9 million new jobs nationally, increase annual household income by $487-$1,175 per year, and boost GDP by $39 billion-$111 billion by 2020.
These gains are over and above business-as-usual economic growth.
“The US market could be the most promising one in the world, with the right policies in place,” said Michael Peck, Founder of MAPA Group and External Relations Director with Gamesa USA. “Wind energy, if encouraged to put down roots in the US, could become a major economic driver and source of new manufacturing of durable goods. Gamesa’s plants in Pennsylvania, for example, have already begun exporting production to Mexico. Countries that institute policies to encourage wind energy on their own soil are likely to become international wind power leaders.”
Gamesa entered the US market in 2001, and now employs more than 900 people here, the vast majority is in manufacturing. The Cambria County manufacturing plant employs 300 workers, and the Bucks County facilities employ 400. Roughly 200 are employed in support and operations at its headquarters in Philadelphia and related development activities in Oxford Valley.
“Climate change poses a real threat to businesses that rely on agricultural products, as Starbucks does with coffee,” said Jim Hanna, Starbucks’ Director of Environmental Impact and Global Responsibility. “We believe addressing climate change will help companies like ours reduce operating costs and mitigate future economic instability due to extreme weather conditions and agricultural loss.”
Results from the EAGLE study are consistent with projections by agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Congressional Budget Office, and the Department of Energy – all of which show substantial economic benefits from more efficient energy use.
“Improving energy efficiency cuts costs for transportation, heating, cooling and other energy demands,” commented David Roland-Holst, the study’s author. “Money saved on energy puts dollars back into household bank accounts, and gives consumers the freedom to spend on things they want. This spending represents 70 percent of Gross State Product, so it represents potent growth and job stimulus for the Pennsylvania economy.”
About the study
The Environmental Assessment in General Equilibrium (EAGLE) model used in the study was developed at the University of California in collaboration with the University of Illinois and Yale University. It details patterns of supply, demand, employment, incomes, resource allocation, energy use, and emissions across the nation and within each of the 50 United States. Using a general equilibrium framework, the model captures both direct impacts and the extensive economy-wide indirect effects of climate and energy policies. The EAGLE model has been peer reviewed and technical documentation is available on request. An executive summary of the study can be found here.
To download this press release in PDF format, please click here.
To download a copy of the Pennsylvania state fact sheet of the study, please click here.
An executive summary of the study can be found here.
A compilation of media coverage of this announcement can be found here.
Or, for more information please contact:
| Matthew M. Mehalik, Ph.D.Program Manager
Sustainable Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy 425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1335 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Tel: 412-258-6644 Fax: 412-258-6645 mmehalik@sustainablepittsburgh.org |
Neal McGrathMedia Relations Manager
Pennsylvania Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy Tel: 215-609-4310 |