By Flora Cardoni and Jim Brown

For MediaNews Group

A lot has changed since 2004. In that year, some enterprising Harvard students launched what would become Facebook,  Yahoo.com was the most visited website, and 14-year-old Taylor Swift was looking for a record deal.

2004 was also the year when Pennsylvania last passed a law to increase renewable energy production. The standard required electric companies to ensure at least 8% of their energy came from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal. Sadly, since it flatlined in 2021, state lawmakers have declined to renew and expand the standard. Today, electric companies that supply electricity in Pennsylvania are no longer required to increase the amount of clean energy that they produce and supply to us each year.

The good news is that legislation recently proposed in the Pennsylvania General Assembly could change all of this for the better. The legislation, known as the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard, or PRESS, would require electricity companies supplying energy in the state to get at least 35% of the energy that they produce from clean, renewable sources by 2035.

We applaud state Rep. Friel Otten of Chester County and Sen. Steve Santarsiero of Bucks County for sponsoring this critical legislation. Pennsylvanians who care about the benefits of renewable energy options should call on their state legislators to pass PRESS as quickly as possible.

Solar and wind power have many benefits: cleaner air, enhanced grid resilience, lower household energy bills and a dramatic reduction in global warming pollution. Over the last 20 years, most other states have reaped more of these benefits by setting ambitious clean energy standards.

Take New York, which also passed a clean energy standard in 2004. The state has surpassed its initial target of 25% and now has a goal of 70% clean energy by 2030.

The Keystone State historically has been a leader in energy innovation. The nation’s first modern oil well was drilled in Titusville in 1859, and the first commercial U.S. nuclear power plant opened in Beaver County in 1958. However, these energy sources came with significant downsides in the form of habitat loss, public health risks and harmful pollution.

In 2025, Pennsylvania has become a laggard when it comes to clean, affordable and renewable energy that is good for people and the planet. According to PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center’s latest State Of Renewable Energy report looking at all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania languishes near the bottom of the class for clean energy generation – ranking 49th out of 51 for the growth of new wind, solar, and geothermal power brought on line over the past decade.

As Pennsylvania’s economy competes with other states for data centers and their need for lots of energy, the state has an opportunity to provide more reliable, cost effective and nonpolluting energy options to accommodate these demands.

States such as Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Iowa all rank higher in the report than Pennsylvania. Clean energy is ramping up across America, not just in states that are typically considered as environmental leaders. Unless we pass PRESS, Pennsylvania is in danger of being left behind while the rest of the country moves toward cleaner, greener and more efficient energy sources.

This will impact more than just our economy. National Audubon Society’s annual State of the Birds Report highlights an alarming trend of declining bird populations as a result of climate change induced habitat loss, including a 27% decline in forest songbirds in the eastern U.S. which migrate through and call Pennsylvania home. We know that investments in renewable energy can reverse these negative impacts on the habitats and landscapes of the Commonwealth.

An increasing number of Pennsylvanians want to get on board with clean energy. A 2022 poll found that 75% of Pennsylvanians — the highest level for 15 years — accept that climate change  is happening. At the same time, the share of people who think drilling for gas will bring more benefits than problems to Pennsylvania continues to drop.

The upsides to clean energy sources are plentiful and the downsides negligible in comparison to more polluting forms of energy. After all, there’s never been a harmful solar spill, leak or meltdown. And, power from the sun and wind doesn’t pollute, never runs out and shows up for free, so why not use it?

If we PRESS the pedal to the metal, Pennsylvania can once again be a leader — not a  laggard — on the road to a future powered by clean, renewable energy.

Flora Cardoni is deputy director of PennEnvironment. Jim Brown is director of policy for Audubon Mid-Atlantic