PEA Leverages Historic Federal Funding, Surge in Private Financing to Reduce Philadelphia’s Energy Use, Make Significant Progress Toward Carbon Neutrality

Contact:

Emily Schapira

Philadelphia Energy Authority

215-686-4483

eschapira@philaenergy.org

 Philadelphia, PA —  The Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) joins its green bank affiliate, the Philadelphia Green Capital Corp., to announce progress of the Philadelphia Energy Campaign. In 2023, the campaign marshaled more than a half billion dollars in public and private clean energy investments. 

The Philadelphia Energy Campaign committed in 2016 to deploy $1 billion in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, creating 10,000 jobs over a 10-year period. Launched in partnership with Philadelphia City Council, the PEA-led campaign surpassed $900 million in total investments last year. As a result, the campaign is on track to meet its goals earlier than expected. 

PEA combines funding for ambitious emission-reduction projects with novel workforce development programs, establishing career pipelines for talented Philadelphians to enter the region’s growing clean energy economy.

PEA manages a combination of municipal, schools, affordable housing, small business, and commercial and industrial programs. Together, PEA’s programs have spurred more than $524 million in 2023 toward new energy conservation projects and renewable energy installations — a 485-percent increase over the previous year.

The campaign’s progress places Philadelphia on a path to achieve the City of Philadelphia’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by 2032 and 100 percent by 2050. 

Accomplishments in 2023 include:

• The Philly Streetlight Improvement Project is the City’s largest ever energy conservation project, reducing the overall electricity needed to power city streetlights by half and operating and maintenance costs — an $8 million annual savings — and lowering municipal carbon emissions by 9 percent.
• Solarize Philly is facilitating rooftop solar installations for 2,700 Philadelphia households and counting, generating more than $50 million in economic benefits across the region.
• Built to Last is addressing unsafe housing conditions through comprehensive home repairs and energy conservation improvements. To date, 320 low-income households have participated, establishing the program as a nationwide model in the coordination of complimentary state, federal, and utility programs. With city funding, PEA estimates 400 more homeowners can participate in 2024.
• Commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) is an innovative financing tool that deploys private capital to help commercial property owners pay for energy efficiency, renewable energy, resilience, water conservation, and indoor air quality projects. The program reached $200 million in closed deals at the end of 2023 — a two-fold increase compared to 2022 — saving owners and their tenants more than $3 million in annual energy costs.

“The Philadelphia Energy Authority is experiencing rapid participation growth across our clean energy programs. With limited resources, we are truly leveraging every available dollar — including once-in-a-generation federal funding and a growing wave of private investment. Our reliance on City funding represents only a relatively small share of our programs’ overall budget, delivering $132 in benefits for every $1 invested by the City,” said Emily Schapira, President & CEO of the Philadelphia Energy Authority. “These transformative investments are creating a cleaner, greener Philadelphia — lowering energy bills and sharply reducing the region’s carbon emissions.”

The Philadelphia Energy Campaign is working to create an inclusive clean energy economy through an equitable labor market transition. PEA runs three workforce development programs that serve as employment pipelines for contractors active within the Solarize Philly and Built to Last programs:

• Bright Solar Futures (BSF) and Bright Solar Futures Opportunity Youth (BSF OppY) train both high school and adult participants for careers in the solar industry.
• Green Retrofit Immersive Training (GRIT) trains participants for careers in green residential construction. 

More than 300 trainees have participated in PEA’s apprenticeship programs. Moving forward, PEA is committed to placing 500 Pennsylvanians in clean energy jobs throughout the region by 2026 through the Good Jobs Challenge Grant, in partnership with Philadelphia Works, Inc (PhilaWorks).

“PEA is providing access to clean energy careers for Philadelphians, young and old. Our apprentices demonstrate the talent and drive that we need to build a cleaner, greener Philadelphia economy,” said Kate Lunger, Director of Workforce Initiatives at PEA. “Thousands of new jobs are coming. Our students and labor are ready for the challenge.”

About Philadelphia Energy Authority

The Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) is an independent municipal authority focused on building a robust, equitable clean energy economy for Philadelphia. With the leadership of City Council President Darrell Clarke, PEA runs the Philadelphia Energy Campaign, a $1 billion, 10-year investment in energy efficiency and clean energy projects to create 10,000 jobs. PEA has supported over $380 million in projects and created nearly 3,300 jobs so far. Learn more at www.philaenergy.org.

About Philadelphia Green Capital Corp.

The Philadelphia Green Capital Corp (PGCC) is the green bank affiliate of the Philadelphia Energy Authority. PGCC, a 501(c)3, works to scale and amplify PEA’s work, support the Philadelphia Energy Campaign, and bring new funding and financial products to the region’s clean energy economy that support equitable access to green capital. Learn more at phillygreencapital.org and on LinkedIn.