A new report commissioned by Community Energy, Inc. finds that transitioning 10% of Pennsylvania’s electric generation to solar would decrease the state’s wholesale electric costs by $619 million annually, while costing less than half that amount to make the transition, and would lower wholesale electric prices across the multi-state utility power grid, PJM Interconnection, by $3 billion annually.
The modeling study, prepared by the independent power analytics firm PowerGEM, LLC, was completed to determine the reliability and market impact of a future scenario where 7,500 megawatts of solar generation is deployed in Pennsylvania, enough to supply about 10% of the in-state electric load. In the study, energy savings and wholesale price reductions result when solar generates peak power with no additional cost during the hours of the day when demand is highest and generation costs are at their peak, a concept known as “peak shaving” or “price suppression.”
Data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) show that the ramp up to 10% solar in Pennsylvania would bring $10 billion in new private investment in the state and create more than 65,000 jobs for electricians, surveyors, design and civil engineers, real estate agents, and geotechnical analysts, along with the full range of construction, operation and maintenance jobs.
