Testimony for EPA Hearing on Clean Power Plan; July 31, 2014

My name is Sharon Pillar. I am the elected president of the Solar Unified Network of Western Pennsylvania (SUNWPA), our region's industry and advocacy group comprised of solar developers, installers, solar owners, non-profit organizations and individuals interested in deploying more solar power. I am employed as the vice president of SmartPower, the nation's leading non-profit marketing firm dedicated to promoting clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency to help Americans make smart energy choices.
We at SUNWPA wholeheartedly support the EPA's Clean Power Plan to curb carbon emissions from existing electricity sources. For western Pennsylvania, this change has significant and important ramifications and opportunities.
One important question we must ask is "Can we achieve these proposed reductions?" The answer is a resounding yes. The National Renewable Energy Labs conducted a technical feasibility studyl of solar potential and found that Pennsylvania has the technical capability to produce 631,703 GWh of electricity through solar every year - which is almost four and half times our current retail sales of electricity in our state. We have an enormous solar potential - a source of clean energy that is severely underutilized.
The second important question is "should we achieve these reductions?" Again, the answer is a resounding yes. In addition to mitigating the disastrous impacts of climate change, reducing carbon output from power plants through use of clean energy and energy efficiency has immediate benefits to the health of the people of our region. A Carnegie Mellon University study 2 last year showed that the societal benefits of replacing carbon-intensive fuels with wind and solar have far greater environmental and health benefits in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia than in anywhere else in the country because our air quality presents more health risks than anywhere in the nation. Solar electricity in Pennsylvania provides $75/MWh in health and environmental benefits per year - 15 times more than the same solar production in Arizona because it displaces our dirty air from fossil fuels. Transitioning to renewables is a good investment in Pennsylvania for our economy and most importantly, for the health of our people.
Speaking of good investment - A homeowner who continues to rent their electricity from the fossil fuel intensive utility will pay out more than $30,000 in electricity payments over the next 25 years, whereas that same homeowner who invests in solar today will save and profit more than $20,000 over that same time point. Solar makes economic sense.
Solar energy has proven benefits to the electricity grid in that it operates at full force during the hottest hours of the year and shaves expensive peak demand - in turn, keeping down the cost of electricity for all rate payers.

'Source: U.S. Renewable Energy Technical Potentials: A GIS- Based Analysis, NREL, July 2012 htto•//www.nrel gov/does/fvl?osti/51946.pdf

2 Source: Regional variations in the health, environmental, and climate benefits of wind and solar generation. Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, May 15, 2013. htt p://vvwyi :; org/content/e- '2013/06/19/1221978 ;u11.pdf+html.Investments into clean energy will transform our economy and bring thousands of new jobs to our

region. We do understand that this transition will alter the workforce and therefore, we encourage state and federal leaders to attract clean energy jobs training and companies to those locations where fossil fuel jobs will be eliminated so that our citizens can continue to provide for their families in their communities.
And yes, we do need to update the hundred year old transmission systems to accommodate new technologies, just as we have done with our transportation, information and healthcare technology systems. We no longer transport goods by canal, use telegraphs or typewriters and it's unthinkable that we'd not use antibiotics to cure common infections. We must move our energy systems into the 21st century as well - for the health and well-being of our people, our economy and our planet. The fossil-fuel dominated electricity system is antiquated, dirty and dangerous. We can and we should lead the world on carbon reductions.
We applaud the EPA for your leadership.

Respectfully Submitted,

Sharon Pillar Sewickley, PA 15143 

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