THE Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has revealed in a new report – Energy in Pennsylvania: Past, Present, and Future –a significant shift in production fuels for energy generation and other uses within the state.
Additionally, the state is making rapid progress toward closing a gap between production and consumption than other states in the nation.
“This pattern of rising production and slowing consumption is expected to continue over time, eventually allowing Pennsylvania and the nation to declare energy independence,” authors said.
Coal’s loss was more certainly an arterial theme of the firm’s report.
Experts found that by 2017, coal and nuclear power plants would have the same electric generational market share, but natural gas use would rise by about 19.3% annually. At 54 billion kilowatt hours versus 2.7 billion kilowatt hours, this was about 20 times the volume needed for power generation in 2000.
Additionally, it estimated that Pennsylvanian mines will be producing about 25% less coal than just 13 years ago, a decline that is much more significant than the US average.
One the renewable sources front, EC noted they will, like natural gas, continue to see a rise in share. In 2000, their electricity contribution in Pennsylvania was about 5 million megawatt hours.
By 2011, the authors noted, that volume jumped to 7.4 million megawatt hours, a more significant rise than any other US state it neighbors.
The production spiral that coal has taken since 2000 still sees no end, as the firm projected the trend continuing until “at least 2017 and probably beyond”.
“The implications of implementing forward-looking energy strategies in Pennsylvania are simply massive,” the report said.
“Sound policy would promote greater energy exports, enhanced efficiency, an improved local and global environment, job creation, income formation and associated business development opportunities.”
The firm called the report a “foundational element” to a forthcoming energy plan that officials are developing and said that the findings can help that strategy to be refined and implemented.
The state is eyeing a late 2013 release for that plan.
