Tim Puko reports in this morning's Tribune-Review that there is "quite a bit" of capital looking for investment opportunities in renewable energy in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
EverPower, a wind developer, employs 60 workers in Pittsburgh that have an uncertain future, in part, because of shifting government policies. EverPower would like to expand its business in Pennsylvania, as would Joe Morinville, owner of the Pittsburgh-based solar company Energy Independent Solutions. But if development picks up outside the United States, that is where the growth will occur.
Unless you are associated with the gas industry, don't look to the Corbett Administration for leadership on this issue. Patrick Henderson, Tom Corbett's energy executive, told Puko that "he [the Governor] won't be passing new tax credits or incentives in favor of renewable power ..."
Why will Corbett not adopt tax policies that promote investment and job growth in Pennsylvania's renewable energy sector? According to Henderson, “I think it's time for all of them to stand (and compete) on their own.”
Ah yes, the ole' "we don't play favorites" argument. That must explain why the Corbett administration offered Royal Dutch Shell $1.65 billion in tax breaks to locate an ethane cracker plant in Monaca, Pennsylvania. Does the word "hypocrisy" come to mind? Because, you know, we don't play favorites.
The fact is that Corbett has gone "all in" with natural gas, betting that focusing every state policy on developing that single industry - from superseding traditional local control over planning to balancing the state's budget on the back of childhood education instead of a reasonable shale gas tax - will raise the tide for all.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry reports that the Commonwealth's unemployment rate of 8.1% continues to exceed the national average of 7.7% percent, and has increased from over a year ago when it was 7.6 percent. Over that same period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that unemployment in 37 other states and Puerto Rico has decreased - but not in Pennsylvania.
Corbett's single industry plan does not appear to be working for Pennsylvania.
