Shapiro visits York County touting Lightning Plan for energy industry

Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Voith Hydro North America in York County Tuesday to tout his “Lightning Plan” for the state’s energy industry.

The governor said that key components of the plan will be introduced in the General Assembly in the coming weeks.

The plan would fast-track the permitting and site-selection process for the energy industry, offer new and modified tax credits for energy expansion and place caps on emissions.

The governor has said the plan would save consumers $664 million over the coming 15 years and lead to $11.4 billion worth of new clean energy investments, all while addressing climate change.

Here’s what the proposal calls for:

• Create the Reliable Energy Siting and Electric Transition Board, or RESET Board, to accelerate siting and permitting decisions. Pennsylvania, Shapiro said, is one of a dozen states without such a board.
• Modify the Pennsylvania Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or PA EDGE, Program, which is made up of several tax credits aimed at generating new business investments in manufacturing sectors. The program could be used for manufacturing things like semiconductors, or petrochemicals and fertilizers that require natural gas. However, no business has used the program since it was created in 2022.
• Convert an existing program into the Reliable Energy Investment Tax Credit, a three-year, $100 million annual tax credit for each new facility that becomes part of the energy grid.
• Reform the state’s rebate program for buying energy efficient appliances by updating standards for the first time in two decades.
• Create the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard to diversify the state’s “energy portfolio standards” and encourage the innovation of new forms of energy, including nuclear energy and battery storage, according to Shapiro’s office.
• Reduce carbon emissions from power plants by setting emission caps and charging companies that exceed the cap. The Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act is an alternate to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that the state has joined. It would use proceeds to lower energy bills and create jobs in clean energy.