Thursday, March 19th 2015

From the always-informative VISTA.today:

West Whiteland Sen. Andy Dinniman has joined Montgomery County Sen. John Rafferty in introducing a pipeline impact fee through Senate Bill 557 based on pipeline right-of-way acreage, according a PA Environment Digest report.

“Throughout Pennsylvania, residents have been affected by the construction of natural gas lines. With the surge in natural gas drilling, many residents of Pennsylvania are experiencing the effects of the growth in this industry,” Rafferty said in the article. “… Although the  construction of this energy infrastructure is often done very efficiently, many communities experience a period of reduced quality of life and long-term impacts to the environment as a result of the construction process. Increased traffic congestion, noise, environmental impacts and associated safety risks are experienced by those who live, work or commute in proximity to these projects.”

Read more at VISTA.today…

Friday, February 27th 2015

Thanks to everyone who attended The 2015 Energy Briefing this morning. Special thanks to our speaker Christina Simeone, as well as Nextility for sponsoring the event. Christina’s slides are available below as a PDF.

If you have questions about SEI, the CCEDC, VISTA 2025, or anything else mentioned this morning please feel free to reach out to Will Williams.

Slides – The 2015 Energy Briefing

Thursday, February 12th 2015

From StateImpact Pennsylvania:

“Governor Tom Wolf made good on a campaign promise Wednesday and proposed a severance tax on natural gas drilling.

Speaking in an elementary school classroom in Thorndale, Chester County, Wolf said the “lion’s share” of the revenue will go to hiking overall funding for public education.

“We sit on top of one of the richest deposits of natural gas in the world,” he said. “We have the natural resources to actually do something about the problem here.”

Wolf’s proposal calls for a 5 percent tax on the value of natural gas at the wellhead, plus 4.7 cents per thousand cubic feet of volume pulled out of the ground to hedge against fluctuations in prices. The governor’s plan is modeled on neighboring West Virginia’s severance tax structure and he projects it would generate $1 billion in its first year, which is about $800,000 more each year than the current impact fee.

Since 2012, drillers have paid a fee for every well with most of the money going back to communities that host the drilling.

Under Wolf’s proposal, the tax would replace the impact fee while maintaining a certain portion of revenue for impacted communities. The governor said he has not yet “worked out the formula” for how much of the money would be distributed among local governments and spent on education, as well as boosting environmental protection.

Polls have shown public support for a severance tax in Pennsylvania. However, the natural gas industry has lobbied against it, claiming it would create an unfriendly business climate in the state and could prompt a slow-down in drilling operations.”

Read more at StateImpact Pennsylvania.

Thursday, January 29th 2015

“A contract for the start of construction on $5.9 million in energy and water conservation measures at Chester County government facilities was introduced to the Chester County Board of Commissioners at today’s Sunshine meeting. The contract, presented by Chester County Director of Facilities and Parks, Steve Fromnick, includes conservation measures guaranteed to provide $6.7 million in cost savings through the county’s 15-year energy performance contract with Constellation.

“Through our strategic plan focus on the environment, we have already taken great strides to reduce energy usage within county-owned buildings,” said Terence Farrell, Chester County Commissioners’ Chair. “This new project reflects our continued commitment to implement water and energy saving measures for the good of the environment, but that also have the benefit of bringing a monetary return to the county.”

Commissioner Kathi Cozzone noted: “Like many other large businesses and organizations, Chester County government is facing a situation where aging facilities, volatile energy costs and capital constraints make operating buildings cost-effectively a major challenge. Since 2010, we have decreased our electricity usage within county facilities significantly and reduced our energy expenditure by more than 20 percent, but there is much more that we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. Entering into this contract with Constellation will allow us to enhance our energy efficiency efforts, improve our facilities and make major strides towards water conservation.”

“By implementing the water and energy conservation measures proposed by Constellation, Chester County will be saving an estimated 2.2 million kilowatt-hours in electricity and more than 18 million gallons of water every year,” added Commissioner Michelle Kichline. “Energy performance contracting is a valuable resource for allowing us to leverage our existing operational budgets for needed capital improvements – all while helping to reach our environmental goals.”

A Chester County task force researched and prepared a “request for quotes” and a “request for proposals” from Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) that identify water and energy savings opportunities and the costs associated with conservation and facility improvements. The task force included representatives from the Facilities & Parks, Purchasing and Finance departments.

In his recommendation of Constellation to the Commissioners, Steve Fromnick said: “Constellation representatives showed the greatest understanding of Chester County’s needs and our vision for facility improvement and energy conservation. The company’s proposal offered more measures for the dollars, and demonstrated the most attractive cash flows based on our investment.

“The $6.7 million in savings is guaranteed by Constellation. If our utility costs are not reduced by this amount following our investment, then Constellation makes up the shortfall.”

Read more at Chesco.org

Tuesday, January 13th 2015

SEI has again received funding from the PA Department of Labor & Industry to support energy-related training. This year we are offering up to a 50% reimbursement for a number of high-demand courses, including several AEE, BPI, IGHSPA, NGVi, and LEED certifications. To get started please complete our online training application.

You’ll need the following:

• Topic of training
• Course dates
• Costs
• Projected outcomes (wage increase, title change, promotion, etc.)

If your training is not on our pre-approved list, please select ‘other’ and fill in the rest of the information. If it meets our criteria we will do our best to get approval for a grant.

E-mail Will Williams with questions.

Tuesday, December 23rd 2014

From NPR’s StateImpactPA:

After more than six years of studying the issue, New York decided to ban fracking this week.

Officials there cited environmental and health risks. The state’s acting health commissioner, Howard Zucker, said there wasn’t enough research to know for sure if fracking poses a health threat, but he wasn’t comfortable recommending it.

“There are many red flags because scientific issues have not yet been comprehensively studied through rigorous scientific research at this time,” Zucker said.

What does this news mean for Pennsylvania?

Continue at StateImpact PA.