The Blue Creek wind farm in Ohio, consists of 152 wind turbines with a total capacity of 304 megawatts. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has finalized new rules that are expected to help ease the backlog of new wind, solar and battery storage projects awaiting regulatory approval. (Robert Zullo/ States Newsroom)
Legislation aimed at restructuring the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) passed the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday.
“This bill will simply give PEDA, an existing authority, permission to seize federal money, multiply it with private capital, and initiate energy projects,” state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), who introduced House Bill 2338 said Tuesday, adding it would help create jobs.
Supporters of the legislation say if this bill becomes law, PEDA can own energy projects which would allow it to use funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to invest in clean energy projects.
“It empowers PEDA to bring federal dollars home to Pennsylvania,” said state Rep. Rob Matzie (D-Beaver). “Ultimately, that is one of the most important jobs we have as members in the legislature: bring home the dollars.”