UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Pennsylvania continues to be on the leading edge of large-scale solar projects planned for development in the PJM multistate region. Current projects in the queue point to more than 80,000 acres of land surface being transitioned for solar development in the commonwealth in the next several years. With this amount of new solar projects planned, what are the top issues at the community level? What economic value is being added? Why is there growing public pushback, and how are land-use issues, like preserving prime agricultural soils, being addressed?
Tom Murphy, director of the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research at Penn State, will answer these questions in his talk "Utility Scale Solar and Pennsylvania – Trends, Impacts, and Implications." The talk, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in 112 Walker Building at University Park.
Murphy’s talk is part of the fall 2022 EESI EarthTalks series, “Exploring the Multiple Dimensions of Solar Energy.” Using both a local and global scope, the series addresses the latest perspectives on policies, environmental management, and the technological advancements toward the dual use, and social and cultural implications of, solar energy.
The EESI EarthTalks series is supported by Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. Talks also are available via Zoom. Visit the fall 2022 EarthTalks website to learn more.