Clean Energy Siting Reform Will Save Pennsylvania Households Hundreds of Dollars Per Year
With Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial election approaching, energy affordability and the state’s ability to meet future electricity demand should be central considerations for the next administration. The decisions state leaders make on siting, permitting, and energy storage procurement will help determine how quickly new resources can come online, how effectively the grid can respond to changing demand, and whether consumers can benefit from a more competitive electricity supply.
Advanced Energy United has long advocated for state-level siting and permitting policies that establish clear, consistent standards, provide greater certainty for developers, and preserve meaningful opportunities for community input. Pennsylvania has an opportunity to apply those principles to its own energy challenges.
Research from Advanced Energy United and Synapse Energy Economics finds that commonsense clean energy siting reform and expanded battery storage deployment could deliver meaningful savings for Pennsylvania families. By removing barriers to energy and storage development, Pennsylvania could save the average household approximately $225 annually by 2029. And achieving these savings would require making just a small fraction of Pennsylvania’s land available for new energy development.
The Challenge: Pennsylvania Needs More Energy Resources
As electricity demand continues to grow across Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth will need multiple tools in its policy toolbox to maintain a reliable and affordable electric grid. One of the most pressing challenges is ensuring that new energy resources can come online quickly enough to meet growing demand.
While PJM, the regional grid operator, works to address its own challenges with bringing new electricity resources online, Pennsylvania policymakers also need to get their own house in order.
Today, outdated and overly restrictive local ordinances are making it unnecessarily difficult to develop new utility-scale solar and energy storage projects.
Only about 5% of Pennsylvania municipalities have favorable siting ordinances for utility-scale solar development. In many communities, overly restrictive requirements effectively prevent projects from moving forward, even when developers are ready to invest.
Consider a municipality that requires solar panels to be spaced so far apart, or set back so significantly from property lines, that developing a financially viable project becomes nearly impossible. While these requirements may not explicitly prohibit solar development, they can function as de facto bans.
These restrictions create uncertainty, increase development costs, and limit the number of new energy projects that can be built. Restricting new electricity supply reduces competition and can contribute to higher costs for Pennsylvania consumers.
Pennsylvania does not have to choose between protecting communities and developing new energy resources. A balanced statewide siting framework can provide greater certainty for developers and communities alike.
The Opportunity: More Solar and Storage Means Lower Electricity Bills
The potential savings from addressing these barriers are substantial.
According to the research, making just 1% of land available for solar development across 10 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties could unlock 8–12 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity. When combined with additional battery storage deployment, these resources could deliver approximately $225 in annual savings for the average Pennsylvania household by 2029.
That’s meaningful savings for families, achieved by making a relatively small amount of land available for new energy development.
And the opportunity could be even greater. These estimates focus on restrictive ordinances at the county level and do not account for the additional solar development potential that could be unlocked by addressing restrictive municipal ordinances elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
Battery storage presents another significant opportunity to lower costs and strengthen grid reliability. Despite its growing deployment across the country, Pennsylvania’s utility-scale battery storage industry remains small, in part due to outdated planning frameworks and barriers to development.
Battery storage has already demonstrated its value in other states by helping grid operators manage fluctuations in electricity demand and supply. Batteries can ease pressure on the grid, improve reliability, and reduce the need for more expensive traditional infrastructure investments. These capabilities will become increasingly important as Pennsylvania’s reliability risks escalate in the years ahead.
But the benefits of battery storage extend beyond reliability. The research also demonstrates its potential to deliver direct savings for Pennsylvania families. Deploying 3.5 GW of battery storage by 2035 could generate approximately $397 million in system-wide savings, translating to roughly $29 in extra annual savings per household by 2035.
Together, these findings demonstrate how expanding Pennsylvania’s energy supply and investing in modern grid technologies can help address rising electricity costs while strengthening long-term reliability.
The Path Forward: Commonsense Siting Reform and Energy Storage Procurement
Pennsylvania lawmakers have already introduced legislation that could help unlock these benefits.
Statewide siting reform (HB 2651) would establish clear, consistent standards for new energy generation and storage projects across municipalities. The legislation would provide greater certainty for developers while maintaining important protections for communities and opportunities for meaningful local input.
By addressing overly restrictive siting requirements and de facto bans, HB 2651 would help remove unnecessary barriers to development and make it easier to build the energy resources Pennsylvania needs to keep electricity affordable.
Energy storage procurement (HB 2380) would establish a framework to procure 3.5 GW of utility-scale battery storage. Expanding storage deployment could strengthen grid reliability, reduce long-term system costs, and support the growth of Pennsylvania’s energy storage industry.
These proposals address different but complementary challenges. Siting reform would make it easier to bring new electricity resources online, while expanded battery storage would help Pennsylvania make better use of the electricity already available on its grid.
Together, they offer a practical pathway to lowering costs while ensuring Pennsylvania has the resources needed to meet growing demand.
Building Pennsylvania’s Energy Future
Opening up a small fraction of land for solar development, alongside strategic investments in battery storage, could save Pennsylvania families approximately $225 annually by 2029. These savings are within reach, but realizing them will require action from state policymakers.
By advancing commonsense siting reform and cost-effective energy storage procurement, Pennsylvania can build a more reliable, competitive, and affordable energy system that benefits families and businesses across the Commonwealth.
Download our Pennsylvania State Policy Roadmap to view Advanced Energy United’s recommendations for how Pennsylvania’s Governor can meet the moment and solve energy issues with innovative policies and impactful personnel.