PA Environment Digest Blog: Gov. Shapiro: Lightning Plan Tax Credit Bill, Community Energy Pass PA House

On May 15, Gov. Shapiro announced the House recently passed two key components of the Lightning Energy Plan, with bipartisan support.

The legislation includes House Bill 500 (Inglis-D-Allegheny) -- the Pennsylvania Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) Tax Credit, which was established in 2022, but hasn’t been used, leaving billions in potential economic development untapped.

The House last week passed House Bill 504 (Schweyer-D-Leigh)-- the Community Energy Act, which would improve the ability of agriculture producers and low-income Pennsylvanians to jointly share energy resources to lower their costs.

The bills now go to the Senate for action.

Supported by a broad coalition of labor and industry leaders, environmental advocates, and consumer groups, the Governor’s commonsense energy plan will create jobs, lower costs for consumers, speed up permitting, and protect Pennsylvania from global instability by building more energy generation in Pennsylvania – positioning the Commonwealth to continue to be a national energy leader for decades to come.

“Pennsylvania has long been a national energy leader, from Ben Franklin to today, and my energy plan will power Pennsylvania forward by incentivizing the building of next generation energy projects in the Commonwealth,” said Governor Shapiro. “We have to meet this moment and this plan – supported by leaders from the energy industry, organized labor and environmental groups, and consumer advocates – will lower costs for consumers, create more jobs, speed up permitting, and position the Commonwealth to continue to be a national energy leader for decades to come. The time for action is now and I look forward to working with leaders in the General Assembly to get this legislation to my desk.”

The EDGE Tax Credit is a collection of tax credit programs designed to attract new investments from businesses in critical manufacturing and energy sectors, including semiconductors, biomedical, milk processing, and clean, reliable, affordable energy generation and storage.

The Lightning Plan proposes several tax credit modifications to ensure businesses can actually take advantage of the credit to create jobs, innovate, and grow our economy, including--

-- Reliable Energy Investment Credit: Up to $100 million per facility, focused on adding clean, reliable, and affordable energy sources to the grid.

-- Regional Clean Hydrogen Tax Credit: Up to $49 million annually for regional hydrogen projects, with lower thresholds to qualify.

-- Semiconductor Manufacturing, Biomedical Manufacturing and Research Tax Credit: up to $8 million per year for semiconductor manufacturing and up to $2 million per year for early-stage semiconductor businesses.

-- Milk Processing Tax Credit Program: Invests in Pennsylvania’s agricultural industry by providing up to $15 million in tax credits per year and $120 million total for milk processing facilities.

-- Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Up to $15 million per year to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through projects that make at least a $250 million investment.

Governor Shapiro’s energy plan will provide funding for new projects through the updated tax credits, streamline energy project approvals by creating a state energy siting board to cut red tape, and increase rebates for energy-efficient appliances to help reduce household energy costs.

The Lightning Plan will “supercharge” energy development in the Commonwealth, positioning Pennsylvania to lead the way in clean, reliable, and affordable energy for years to come, the Governor said..

Click Here for the Governor's announcement.

Resource Links:

-- Evangelical Environmental Network Celebrates House Passage Of Community Solar Energy Legislation In PA [PaEN]

-- House, Senate Members Introduce Gov. Shapiro's 'Lightning' Energy Plan To Lower Energy Costs, Create Jobs, Protect Pennsylvania From Global Energy Instability [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Launches Legislative Push for 'Lightning Plan’ To Build More Energy Projects, Speed Up Permitting, Lower Costs, Create Jobs For Pennsylvanians [PaEN]