Pennsylvania State Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23) recently announced plans to introduce legislation to establish a Pennsylvania Baseload Energy Development Fund.
The proposed fund would provide low-interest grants and loans to finance the construction, maintenance, modernization and operation of electric generation facilities.
“Pennsylvania alone supplies nearly 25 percent of baseload electric generation capacity to the grid,” Yaw said. “We must play a more active role in incentivizing generation and addressing looming reliability challenges with market-based solutions. The Pennsylvania Baseload Energy Development Fund can help us supply the grid with reliable, cost-effective energy, as well as the infrastructure and workforce to maintain it.”
Yaw is the chairman of the state’s Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.
The Energy Fund will be modeled after the Texas Energy Development Fund, Yaw said. Initially funded at $5 billion, the Texas fund was increased to $10 billion due to a robust response.
Yaw said the bill will protect the reliability of the PJM electric grid. PJM projects that 20 percent of its existing capacity will retire by 2030. On the current course, Yaw said PJM will not have sufficient power to meet the demands of consumers.
PJM is the regional transmission organization for 13 states and the District of Columbia. It coordinates the flow of electricity from generators to local utilities via high-voltage transmission lines. Local utilities distribute this power directly to consumers.