Summary:

Protesters gathered in Pennsylvania to try and urge PECO energy to invest in local solar energy. State-Rep Dan Williams agrees that the state needs to lean towards replacing fossil fuels with solar panels not just for the financial benefits, but for the environmental benefits of solar energy as well. Williams also believes that investing in local solar energy would also help restore economic justice.

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CALN – About 50 people gathered at the shopping center on North Caln Road Tuesday afternoon to march to the Exelon Power Labs building down the street and hold a rally to call on the PECO energy company to invest in local solar energy.

The protesters held signs and sang songs while they marched to their destination, and some passing motorists honked their horns to show support for the cause.

The rally was organized by Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) and Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild (POWER).

Dana Robinson, spokesperson for EQAT, said the rally was part of a “pressure campaign” on PECO, which is part of the Exelon Corporation, to urge them to take a leading role on investing in solar energy in the area.

He said bringing solar energy infrastructure to the area could create jobs and improve the local economy, and also help with protecting the environment.

“We want PECO to get to 25 percent solar energy by 2025,” he said.

Robinson said PECO could also wield their political influence to lobby for state laws that would make solar energy more commonplace. For example, EQAT supports the legalization of community solar programs in Pennsylvania, which would allow participants to share solar panels in a community plot and receive credit on their electricity bills for energy produced by the solar panels.

He said if PECO takes a leading role in solar energy investments, it would make the local marketplace more attractive for other investors and organizations to get involved. “You need a dealmaker,” he added.

Several people from local organizations spoke at the rally.

Alvin Herring, program director of ConnectPoints, a program that provides resource recommendations for people facing homelessness or housing insecurity, said local solar energy investments could go a long way toward reducing unemployment in the City of Coatesville and giving residents opportunities for good jobs to provide for their families.

“Coatesville is on the move, but it would really be on the move with support from PECO,” he said.

Steve Reynolds, a local solar panel installer, said it’s good to urge PECO to invest in solar, but local residents don’t even have to wait on big businesses or governments to take action because they already have the means to bring solar energy to their communities.

He said there are already great tax initiatives in place for those seeking to install solar panels at their homes, businesses, churches, etc., and they can even sell excess electric back to the utility companies.

“The sun is free,” he said. “The only cost to go solar is the technology.”

He said that solar energy devices, like any technology, just get better, faster and cheaper as time goes on. Solar panels are 90 percent cheaper now than they were five years ago, and it’s now cheaper to invest in solar energy than fossil fuels, he said.

“Solar technology pays itself off in 5-7 years,” he said. “It’s a win-win-win.”

State Rep. Dan Williams, D-74, said there needs to be momentum for bringing solar energy to the area.

Williams, who’s also a minister at New Life in Christ Fellowship church, said his faith also calls on followers to be stewards of the Earth, and investing in green energy like solar to protect the environment goes hand in hand with that.

He said it’s long overdue to move away from fossil fuels, and action needs to be taken now.

“The carbon clock is ticking, and time is about to run out,” Williams said.

He said it’s important to challenge PECO, Exelon and other monopolies to be consistent and respond to these issues.

Williams said investing in local solar energy would also help restore economic justice to the area and bring back good manufacturing jobs as part of a robust economy.

He said clean energy is vital to protect the environment and “preserve a future worth fighting for.”

At the end of the rally, several protesters used sidewalk chalk to write messages to PECO on the sidewalk outside the building. Some protesters tied their signs to the chain link fence at the parking lot.

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