clean energy Archives - epcamr.org

Energy Independence in PA! What’s it going to take? Can Solar be a Major Player in the Clean Alternative Energy Mix?

Bobby Hughes — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:18:57 +0000

Electricity costs have skyrocketed over the past five years, rising on average by 46 percent
since 2018. This dramatic spike in costs is largely due to soaring energy demand, paired with
stagnant energy supply.

This means Pennsylvania must increase our energy supply to keep costs down – and the
cheapest and fastest type of energy to deploy is renewable energy, namely solar and energy
efficiency measures.

Many households that go solar or use energy efficient measures save hundreds to even
thousands of dollars a year – and organizations that consume a lot of energy can save tens of
thousands a year or more.

Our Executive Director, Bobby Hughes, is a volunteer with Energy Independence for Pennsylvania and has been writing Op-Eds and been posting information to various social media groups to talk about Solar Energy in PA. We’ve done a lot of research on assessing solar suitability for abandoned mine lands. See our Assessment Report co-authored and written by LaBella Associates and EPCAMR back in 2024.

We are presenting and giving the Energy Independence for PA Presentation to our EPCAMR Board Members for their review and further digestion after the meeting on August 20th, 2026, so that they can take it back to their communities and see if it’s something that might be of interest to their members of the community groups, watershed associations, and Conservation Districts that many of them represent. Check out the Energy Independence for PA website for resources and ways that you might be able to save money for you and your families as homeowners and for businesses and non-profits.

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The Just Transition Fund Awards EPCAMR $25K Planning and Outreach Grant to Reach New Partners in the Solar Markets to Discuss Future Development Opportunities on Reclaimed Abandoned Mine Lands in PA Coalfield Communities

Bobby Hughes — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 21:09:05 +0000

EPCAMR tried for a second time to propose a grant to The Just Transition Fund’s Cycle 2 round of funding in the Fall of 2021 for a planning and outreach effort to build our capacity for supporting efforts across PA to look into the solar market development in our coalfield communities and on reclaimed abandoned mine lands and were successful. We will be working to expand our Solar Site Selection Criteria GIS Suitability Modeling Tool to spread it out beyond the EPCAMR region only, and go state-wide with it, as we build on to it with additional data layers from new partnerships and stakeholders we hope to make. Highlights of the initial creation of the tool by EPCAMR can be found in the Reclaiming Appalachian Coalition’s Restoration and Renewal
The New Appalachian Economy Report, created by Appalachian Voices, Coalfield Development Corporation, Rural Action, and Downstream Strategies. We were awarded $25K to work on the planning effort over the next year.

Figure 1. Aspect Raster Layer of a portion of the Northern Anthracite Coalfields

Suitability Layer of a portion of the Northern Anthracite Coalfields related to Solar within coalfield communities and the potential siting on formerly reclaimed abandoned mine lands

The grant really has 3 goals…

Spent time on outreach and building partnerships across the State to advocate for solar development on formerly reclaimed mine lands and in coalfield communities
Further develop our Solar Site Selection Criteria GIS Suitability Modeling Tool for GIS now that we have the Anthracite Region covered, and make the tool more robust by adding additional layers
Provide education, outreach, internships, to advocate for the potential for either small scale community solar or large scale solar development that could lead to jobs, workforce development, and professional skills training like we already do with the Earth Conservancy through their Environmental Workforce Training Program

Staff are reviewing the scope of work and will begin to reach out across PA in the coming weeks ahead looking for partners, regional non-profits, solar developers, landowners with interest in solar development in coalfield communities and on reclaimed abandoned mine lands. We hope to involve existing partners across the State that have been a part of the PA AML Campaign, including the Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (WPCAMR), Citizens Coal Council, the Foundation for PA Watersheds, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Western PA Conservancy, PA Association of Conservation Districts, and the Mountain Watershed Association.

Utility Companies, like PPL, Dominion, UGI, and others in the Utility Services Territoriers tied into the PJM Markets and Operations that we are less familiar with, as well as leaders in coalfield communities that would like to see if small scale community solar could work for them at a municipal level will be some of our target audiences to conduct some initial outreach to across the Commonwealth. Economic development agencies, Chambers of Commerces, Industrial Development Authorities, Real Estate Companies, all seem to be integral to the discussion as well. We will be interested to hear from solar developers and companies as we proceed to let us know what some of the hurdles, impediments, opportunities, and incentives that might need to be discussed to direct more attention to former abandoned mine lands for small or large scale solar development projects to get off the ground in PA, like they are in the surrounding states of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Southwestern Virginia in central Appalachia. EPCAMR initially has been working with AC Power out of New York to work with them to connect them up with landowners that were identified as potentially having land available for consideration. AC Power supported EPCAMR’s initial grant to the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition in 2020 that led to the development of our Solar Site Selection Criteria GIS Suitability Modeling Tool. EPCAMR has also been reaching out to the ARIPPA Co-Generation Industry Trade Association group in PA that is a member association because of the large tracts of land they might have available once the waste culm feedstocks are used up to generate electricity that is also placed on to the grid.

The Build Back Better framework invests $2.5 billion for planning and installing solar facilities and
community solar projects that serve low-income households or multi-family affordable housing
complexes. Funding will also support development of these facilities in underserved areas and areas
with high energy burden. There are opportunities here that are unprecedented, however, we need to ultimately know what the interests are of those who own the lands that might be the most suitable for solar development. No access, limited grid connectivity, improvements that may need to be made to land, outright acquisition of property, royalties, or short or long-term lease agreements are all discussion points that will need to be on the table and taken into consideration when talking about efforts such as these. The Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act also will be allocating a significant amount of funding for abandoned mine land reclamation projects across the Commonwealth over the next 13 years that might help to prepare future sites for solar development. At a press event on December 29, 2021, EPCAMR had the chance to speak and provide examples of future clean energy alternative projects, including solar, that need to be considered as we look to the window of opportunity for federal funds to reclaim additional acreage of mine lands and leverage private sector investment for economic development throughout PA.

EPCAMR will continue to advocate for sustainable and equitable clean energy and alternative energy community economic development projects with the private sector. EPCAMR conducts education and outreach in our communities where school districts are underserved, however, our organizational capacity is limited to get to many of them without funding. We are currently working on abandoned mine reclamation projects, mine pool mapping, AMD monitoring, and mine water pollution treatment. EPCAMR builds community capacity by investing time and providing technical assistance to local leaders, our community volunteers, colleges, universities, co-generation plants, municipal officials, and regional non-profit organizations. EPCAMR is a regional organization that has established, economic development links between rural and urban coalfields, as consensus builders, and constantly are reaching out to engage the private sector and other regional non-profits.

Reimagine Appalachia, one of our national partners, allowed EPCAMR to make an announcement about the award on a call earlier this week, where many groups were from across the state and into the Ohio River Valley and southwestern PA. The announcement was well received and many folks on the call were very interested in reaching back out to EPCAMR. We asked for any leads on groups to contact and follow up with as we begin our outreach and were pleased to see that the Nature Conservancy’s Director of Nature and Economic Programs, Eriks Brolis, reached out immediately. They have done similar work in W.VA already on reclaimed mine lands with solar, have a great deal of experience in the subject, and were willing to provide us with his Pennsylvania contacts.

“This planning grant is really about building new partnerships and new coalitions in the solar market realm. Developers may have questions and concerns about locating on formerly reclaimed abandoned mine lands and we’d like to help them get the answers they need to determine if projects might be feasibility or not using our suitability tool as we further develop it to accommodate for various criteria in other parts of central and western PA. We don’t have to complete a solar project in PA on abandoned mine lands, but this grant helps to start the conversation and build the capacity to see those who can become stakeholders and get a seat at the table and have an open dialogue on the subject. They are locating these types of projects on landfills across the country, so why not former abandoned mine lands in communities that could use the clean energy alternative and job creation and economic development potential that would come with these types of projects. We would like to see the Governor’s Office seriously consider this as a way to further diversify the PA Act of 2004 Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) and show support for solar on reclaimed abandoned mines as they are already doing on agricultural lands. It could also lead to the discussion of locating manufacturing facilities that could be build on these former abandoned mine lands by companies that design, construct, and ultimately look to manufacture, and sell the panels here in the PA market that is seemingly untapped,” exclaimed Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director.

PennFuture, a partner of EPCAMR’s regionally, also believes that a vibrant, thriving clean energy industry is critical to our future economic success, public health and environmental sustainability. Analysts forecast $7-9 billion in viable clean energy projects are untapped across the Commonwealth. Wind and solar are the cheapest forms of electricity generation. Regional grid operators are confident renewables, energy efficiency and battery storage can combine to ensure reliable electricity supply while actually lowering overall energy prices. They have a great fact sheet on clean energy and natural climate solutions in PA, which includes solar.

Governor Tom Wolf, in March of 2021, announced his major clean energy initiative that would produce nearly 50 percent of state government’s electricity through seven new solar energy arrays totaling 191-megawatts to be built around the Commonwealth. Part of the Governor’s GreenGov initiative, Pennsylvania PULSE (Project to Utilize Light and Solar Energy) will be going into operation on January 1, 2023. The project is the largest solar commitment by any government in the U.S. announced to date.

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PennFuture Is Hiring a NE PA Outreach Coordinator based in Wilkes-Barre

Bobby Hughes — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 19:49:34 +0000

PennFuture is leading the transition to a clean energy economy in Pennsylvania and beyond. They are protecting our air, water and land, and empowering citizens to build sustainable communities for future generations.

EPCAMR is helping to put the word out about a full-time opening in Wilkes-Barre for one of our regional partners.

Job Description: Northeast PA Outreach Coordinator (Wilkes-Barre)

The Outreach Coordinator educates PennFuture members, the environmental advocacy community, and decision makers about environmental and conservation issues with an emphasis on climate, water, and energy-related policies. He or she is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with PennFuture constituents, including coalition partners, and representing PennFuture’s positions to the general public. The Outreach Coordinator works with a team of professionals including attorneys, policy experts, media professionals and other outreach staff and is the public face of the organization in northeast Pennsylvania.

Job Duties:

Implement environmental issue campaigns by defining and managing objectives, recruiting coalition members, and coordinating meetings and events
Work with other environmental advocacy organizations to organize and facilitate meetings and events – occasional evening and weekend hours
Community outreach, event tabling, public speaking
Recruit and manage members, supporters, and volunteers
Manage and implement a range of grant deliverables and campaign activities
Assist with grant writing, editing, and reporting
Craft campaign e-mails, action alerts, blog and social media posts
Draft, edit, and submit letters to the editor and other opinion pieces
Build support for local, state, and federal legislative priorities
Occasional lobbying of public officials and government agencies
Draft and present testimony at public hearings pertaining to environmental issues
Work with law staff to develop cases for litigation and respond to requests for assistance as well as general inquiries
Conduct reporter interviews by phone and in person, speak at press conferences and other media events
Steer our regional climate, water, clean-energy, and sustainability work and assist with other initiatives
Perform office administrative duties, including member data entry, as directed

Qualifications:

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Excellent social media skills.

Enthusiasm for PennFuture, its mission, and its brand.

Detail oriented and highly organized.

Driver License.

Familiarity with non-profit organizations is preferred though not required.

Education and experience:

Bachelor’s degree.

3-5+ years in outreach, advocacy, or organizing.

Deep understanding of conservation, environmental, and energy issues.

Strong leadership skills and ability to work with staff on site and remotely.

Understanding of Pennsylvania’s environmental/conservation landscape.

Location, Compensation and Timeline:

The position is based in Wilkes-Barre. Competitive salary based on experience. Generous benefits package includes health care, dental, life insurance and paid time off.

Submission:

Please submit your cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references to the Director of Outreach at andrews@pennfuture.org. Please write “Northeast PA Outreach Coordinator” in the subject line. The application deadline is September 26, 2016.

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