February 10, 2026
Gov. Shapiro missed the opportunity to celebrate a big energy win in his budget address last week while burnishing his green credentials at the same time.
He boasted that Pennsylvania is the second-largest energy producing state in the country behind Texas, as he should.
But the governor failed to highlight that Pennsylvania is also a national leader in producing carbon-free electricity. Only three states – Texas, California, and Illinois – produce more power from carbon-free sources such as solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, and geothermal.1
And the Commonwealth is continuing that leadership effort.
Vistra Corp. announced last month that it would expand the generating capacity of its Beaver Valley nuclear power plant by 140 megawatts. That single expansion project will produce more carbon-free electricity each year than the combined production of all the solar panels built in Pennsylvania over the past 20 years.2
No matter how hard environmentalists press for more wind and solar generation to become a bigger piece of Pennsylvania’s electric portfolio, the state’s weather pushes back even harder.
Thanks to its cloudy skies, Pennsylvania’s solar production is 31% less efficient than the U.S. average. The only states less efficient at producing solar power are New Jersey and Alaska.3
As for wind, Pennsylvania’s production is 30% less efficient than the national average4, and its wind efficiency has steadily declined over the past five years.5
Ken Zapinski
412-352-4364; ken@pghworks.com
