Climate watch: Despite roadblocks, green is gaining
Even with the Trump administration’s moves to boost fossil fuels and hamstring solar and wind, 96% of new power generation capacity added in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2026 was clean: 60% solar, 31% battery storage, 5% wind, 4% natural gas. That’s according to a new report by the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Here are some other energy and environmental news items from the past few weeks.
Solar outpaces coal
In May, for the first time ever, solar supplied more of the nation’s energy than did coal. Solar energy provided 12.8% of the electricity for America in that month while coal supplied 12.2%.
Plug-in solar update
Seven states — Utah, Maine, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, Vermont and Connecticut — have now made plug-in solar legal. Often called balcony solar because it can be easily used by apartment dwellers, these are small solar panels, typically 1,200 watts or less, that connect directly to a standard household outlet. Their use can knock a couple of hundred dollars per year off a family’s electric bill. Legislation has been introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives advocating plug-in solar. It has 36 co-sponsors including three Republicans.
House OKs virtual power plants
In mid-June the PA House of Representatives passed a bill to permit virtual power plants in the commonwealth. “A virtual power plant connects everyday household technologies, such as smart thermostats, solar batteries and electric vehicles, into a coordinated network,” according to a news release. “During peak energy demand, like the hottest days of summer, these distributed resources can dynamically scale back demand or feed power back into the grid. This reduces the need to operate expensive, high-emission peaker plants.” The bill now moves to the Senate.
Data centers and natural gas
Developers of data centers in the Keystone State would rely on seven new natural gas-fired power plants, a new report states. These seven power plants would “emit climate-warming gases equal to adding 14 million cars on the road every year.” The report from the Environmental Integrity Project said the plants would spew 68 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
Fossil fuel taxes
“The fossil fuel industry’s structural decline and (Pennsylvania’s) prior decisions to forego adequate tax revenue from the sector are important contributors to the state’s fiscal problems.” That’s the key takeaway from a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Had the commonwealth taxed the fossil fuel industry more robustly years ago, as Texas and North Dakota did, the state’s fiscal situation would have been much improved, the report says.
Turning plastic bottles into graphite
Penn State researchers have turned PET, the material used to make plastic bottles, into high-grade synthetic graphite, a fundamental element of lithium-ion batteries. “If waste plastic can become a feedstock for advanced energy materials, it changes how we think about recycling,” researcher Shakshi Sekar said. “Instead of viewing plastic as a disposal problem, we can see it as a resource that helps support clean energy technologies.” The research was published recently in the journal “Diamond and Related Materials.”
Happy 50th to Shaver’s Creek
A reminder: Penn State’s Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center is marking its 50th anniversary this year and recently reopened following a several-months-long improvement project. Fiftieth anniversary events are planned throughout the year. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Richard Jones is a member of the State College chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Reach the chapter at PaStateCollege@citizensclimatelobby.org.