The M Files

This wasn't a serious political rally. Yes, they really handed out Ed Rendell bobble heads.

On Saturday night, I drove the Ford Fusion Hybrid to Philadelphia, where I was the guest of a client at a PennFuture event celebrating Gov. Ed Rendell’s environmental victories. Though I am a Republican, the event was more an energy celebration than a political rally. The evening with friends was delightful, and I was honored to be invited.

Among the guest speakers were former President Clinton (via satellite), Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, former Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Katie McGinty, as well as a few of the state’s current cabinet secretaries. The speeches were fairly light, more resembling a roast than political sound bites. Mayor Nutter quipped that the governor initially thought Marcellus Shale was a power-hitting baseball player who ought to wear a Phillies uniform. Mr. Clinton told of highly unskilled basketball match-ups between himself and then prosecutor Ed Rendell.

Gov. Rendell spoke from the heart. What he lacks in basketball skills is more than compensated by his ability to communicate. He spoke in some detail about the role his marriage has played in his success as chief executive.

PennFuture dubbed Mr. Rendell as “our Green governor.” The event program listed some of the administration’s actions:

• Passage of the Growing Greener bond that preserved more than 30,000 acres of farmland, 42,000 acres of wildlife habitat, funded 400 watershed protection projects, repaired dams, and revitalized communities.
• Passage of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act.
• Adoption of a regulation requiring coal-fired power plants to reduce emissions of mercury pollution by 90 percent.
• Adoption of tail-pipe pollution standards for new cars sold in the Keystone State.
• Passage of Act 129, which requires utilities to reduce demand for electricity.
• Passage of the Renewable Fuels Mandate which will require a growing percentage of diesel transportation fuel to be made from renewable resources.
• Passage of the $650 million Alternative Energy Investment Act that provided financial incentives for the development of renewable energy projects, including the Pennsylvania Sunshine Program.

There’s no doubt that these actions will make an enduring environmental impact on the Commonwealth. And there is definitely some economic stimulus. Several of our McClure customers have implemented energy projects with us as a result of receiving the grants and low-cost loans. These projects would otherwise have been moth-balled, as the capital costs heavily outweighed the economic benefit.

My takeaway? On the renewable side, what I don’t see are these tax/rate payer provider funds truly making renewable energy projects more affordable over the long haul. Unless we see dramatic improvements in solar and wind technologies, they will continue to need an artificial boost through government mandates and incentives.