Firm will boost local economy, help the environment
Marshalls Creek, PA – State Rep. John Siptroth congratulated Energy in the Bank, a company that installs solar panels and develops solar farms, on today’s opening of its Pennsylvania headquarters in Marshalls Creek. The company will create hundreds of green jobs.
“Many new technology jobs are being created by the renewable energy sector,” said Siptroth, D-Monroe/Pike. “We need those good-paying green jobs here in Monroe County and we need alternatives to fossil fuel-based electricity generation. I was pleased to help establish Energy in the Bank in Monroe County and personally supported its application for state Department of Environmental Protection certification.”
Siptroth said the company will employ hundreds of qualified solar installers on its projects, which will help local facilities reduce their energy costs. The company also hopes to employ hundreds of qualified technicians to regularly inspect and maintain its solar projects when they are built and generating power.
“This is a win-win for Monroe County and our state,” Siptroth said. “Energy in the Bank will employ many of our residents who are training to work in the solar industry at local colleges and, at the same time, help reduce our carbon footprint.”
Siptroth noted that figures released by DEP yesterday showed that solar power generated in Pennsylvania increased by 350 percent in 2009, adding $1.4 billion to the state’s economy. He also noted that since the PA Sunshine Solar Rebate Program opened in May 2009, 2,000 new projects with a total of nearly 20 megawatts have been installed. Another 53 megawatts of additional capacity are in the planning stages.
Siptroth is a member of the “Green Dog Caucus” and supported legislation that created state incentives for homeowners and businesses to use solar panels. He also supported legislation to increase Pennsylvania’s Renewable Portfolio Standards to expand the solar industry here.
Siptroth said most of Pennsylvania’s electricity comes from coal-fired plants which are responsible for 70 percent of the nation’s sulfur dioxide, 33 percent of its nitrogen oxide and 23 percent of soot emissions. Four of the nation’s 10 worst polluting coal-fired plants are in Pennsylvania and four other are nearby in Ohio
Air pollution takes a terrible toll on the elderly, those with respiratory disease, and even healthy adults,” Siptroth said. “Coal plants are also responsible for acid rain and heavy metals such as mercury in lakes and rivers. It’s time to develop more power from renewable and clean sources and I look forward to seeing Energy In the Bank’s first Pennsylvania large commercial solar project in the very near future.”
