The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) is an independent public financing authority with a mission to finance clean, advanced energy projects in Pennsylvania. It could be an important and powerful tool for Pennsylvania, seeking to leverage millions of dollars that are available through the $550 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the $783 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The investments of the IIJA and IRA are creating once-in-a-generation opportunities to tackle some of the most significant challenges Pennsylvania is facing: an over-reliance on old, polluting energy sources; loss of jobs; a history of negative environmental and economic impacts on poorer communities, especially for Black and brown people; and the growing impact of climate change.
These problems are big and challenging—but they are all problems that can be addressed. PEDA can help create the economy of tomorrow in Pennsylvania with investments in creating good jobs for a more diverse workforce in the growing clean energy sector and in equitably helping communities prepare for climate change. But that is only if our agency is properly set up to play the role we need it to play.
Other states are creating similar agencies positioned to facilitate and support clean energy infrastructure projects and attract private investment. These entities will play a critical role in supporting communities and industry by helping to facilitate projects and communities that are applying for tax credits, providing bridge financing, providing support when private investments are slow, and more.
One of the key challenges of investing the billions of dollars available from the IIJA and IRA is securing “bridge funding.” Bridge funding is particularly critical to under-resourced communities that have been historically left out of large infrastructure investments in the past. It enables the creation of projects that would eventually be supported by utilization of “refunded” tax credits after the project is completed. That’s why we need a functional entity like PEDA that can facilitate the dispersal of bridge funding to all communities in the state and ensure equitable distribution of the tax credits that are available in the IIJA and IRA.
As of today, the agency does not have the necessary staffing level to ensure that Pennsylvania is positioned to fully leverage IIJA’s and IRA’s maximum potential. We must ensure that PEDA can support local communities and industries by initiating projects that could be funded by these new federal programs. PEDA was created in 1982 and is currently in danger of being shut down because of a provision in the law creating it that “sunsets” the agency. The current proposed legislation to reauthorize PEDA does not provide the needed foundation for the work that needs to happen.
With our immense natural gas reserves—and history when coal was “king”—Pennsylvania is a longtime “energy” state. With the right kinds of clean energy investment we can maintain our leading role in providing energy to people in our and other states but in a way that is not only safer and more equitable but also creates good jobs for people in a growth sector. That makes more sense for Pennsylvania than holding on to the jobs of yesterday, which are rapidly disappearing.
Legislators are considering changes. We’ll be watching.