A community solar bill bouncing around Pennsylvania’s House and Senate for roughly a decade passed the House of Representatives once again, this time adding natural gas to the community energy legislation.
The “Community Energy Act” would allow for the creation, financing, accessibility and operation of community solar and natural gas projects at no cost to taxpayers.
Pennsylvania’s lawmakers have been trying to pass a community solar bill for roughly a decade. The legislation can be traced back to at least 2017, and for many years, the community solar bill was led by Republicans while remaining mostly bipartisan overall. For example, Rep. Peter Schweyer (D), who circulated the bill in the most recent legislative sessions has cosigned the bill since at least the 2017-2018 session, when Rep. James Santora (R) circulated the bill. Republicans continued to lead the community solar legislation every year until 2023, when the bill’s cosigner, Rep. Schweyer, took over as lead before the bill died in committee.
With similar results to last year, the bill passed the House 114-89, with 101 democrats and 13 republicans voting in favor, and one democrat and 88 republicans voting against the bill. The legislation next moves to the state Senate, where last year’s bill failed to progress.
Community solar enables people and businesses who are renters or can’t put solar on their roof to have access solar-generated electricity through a subscription. The consumer subscribes to a portion of the electricity generated by a local community solar installation, receiving credits on their utility bills for the electricity produced by the facility.
The bill also imposes duties on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, electric distribution companies and subscriber organizations, and provides for prevailing wage and labor requirements.
The program’s energy must be generated by a solar or natural gas facility with a nameplate capacity rating that does not exceed 5 kWac, or 20,000 kW if the facility is a brownfield community energy or a rooftop community solar facility.
The legislation almost included nuclear energy through an amendment by Rep. Roman Kozak (R), but the amendment failed with a tight margin of 101 in favor and 102 voting against the measure.
“Right now, many Pennsylvanians don’t get to choose where their electricity comes from,” said Monica Carey, Pennsylvania program director for Solar United Neighbors. “That means they’re subject to fluctuating energy prices and decisions made by big utility companies. But with community solar, a new option will open up. Ratepayers would have more cost-saving energy choices, allowing them to make the decision that’s right for them.”
The Community Energy Act is part of Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro’s Lightning Plan, which takes the state’s “all-of-the-above” approach to modernize the state’s energy plan.
The plan is robust. As notable as it is, the Community Energy Act is one of many notable measures within the Lightning Plan’s big pond of initiatives. The plan provides funding for new energy projects through an updated manufacturing tax credit; creates a state energy siting board to streamline energy project approvals, requires 10% of Pennsylvania’s total annual wholesale electricity demand to be met by renewable energy credits that originate in the state, annually increasing by 1% through 2050; creates rebates for energy-efficient appliances; and encourages communities to lower utility bills through shared energy resources, to name a few.
Noting PJM’s expectations for electricity usage to triple from its initial projections, Dennis Affinati, the vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 3rd District, said the legislation “will help expand solar markets to members of the community regardless of geographic or financial limitations. By creating this opportunity,” he said, “we will help satisfy the demands of consumers while training the workforce for the future energy economy.”
“However, community solar is well-positioned to respond to the challenges and opportunities of solar development on active, abandoned, or reclaimed mine sites,” said Bobby Huges, executive director of the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation.
“These sites are often within close proximity to existing grid infrastructure and underserved coalfield communities, yet are generally smaller and fragmented, meaning they are not ideal for 100 acres-plus grid-scale projects,” he said.
Additionally, a Penn State Center for Economic and Community Development study estimated that community solar projects in Pennsylvania would support more than 11,00 jobs during their construction and generate about $1.8 billion in economic activity across the state. For comparison, there were 4,287 solar jobs in Pennsylvania as of March 2025, according to SEIA.
Despite bipartisan support, Pennsylvania has yet to establish a community solar program, Elowyn Corby, Vote Solar Action Fund’s Mid-Atlantic regional director said, and noted community solar programs implemented across its neighboring states, New York, Maryland and New Jersey.
At least 19 states and D.C. have policy and programs to encourage community solar development, according to SEIA.
State policy is particularly important with community solar because, according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ISLR), many utilities offer something they call solar, but subscribers pay a premium and the utility owns the projects — thus maintaining its monopoly control over the market and pocketing any profits for its shareholders. To further energy democracy, ISLR said, community solar needs supportive state policy that allows non-utility developers to build and own solar projects, establishes a fair price for utilities to pay for community solar power, and sets up a process for billing and crediting subscribers.
Our Solar PA, a coalition of groups from across the state formed during Pennsylvania’s previous legislative attempt at community energy. While the bills ultimately died, their belief and advocacy in community solar continues to push forward remaining “united behind a belief that community solar has the power to meaningfully expand access to clean energy in the Commonwealth.”
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