Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf has announced the state's new plan to produce nearly 50 percent of state government electricity through seven new solar energy arrays in the largest solar commitment project by any government in the U.S.

 

The solar energy arrays total 191-megawatts and will be installed in six of the state's counties: Columbia, Juniata, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and York. The project is expected to deliver 361,000 megawatt hours of electricity each year, supplying 100 percent of electricity for 434 accounts across 16 state agencies which equals about half of the state government's electricity.

The project, called Pennsylvania PULSE (Project to Utilize Light and Solar Energy), is part of the governor's GreenGov initiative which was put in place to increase sustainable practices and lower greenhouse gas emissions. With that initiative, Pennsylvania has reached their goal of obtaining at least 40 percent of electricity from clean energy generated in the state.

The Pennsylvania PULSE project is also expected to generate over 400 jobs and begin lowering carbon dioxide emissions statewide by 157,800 metric tons each year which the state says is equivalent to the number of emissions from nearly 27,000 homes or taking 34,000 cars off the roads. Pennsylvania PULSE will go into operation on January 1, 2023.