While Gov. Tom Wolf (D) tries to negotiate a greener future for Pennsylvania, some major names have already committed to using more renewable energy. Among them, SEPTA recently agreed to purchase a portion of their expected electricity needs from two solar farm in Franklin County.
 
The state’s largest regional mass transit operator announced in July their plan to purchase from the farms, which will be owned and operated by Lightsource BP. The farms will exclusively produce electricity for SEPTA with a rate locked in for 20 years.

Amid all the floor debates, press conferences and committee hearings, the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s newest co-sponsorship memos can get lost in the shuffle. That’s why The PLS Reporter rounds up some of the most noteworthy co-sponsorship memos each week, so you can stay informed of what’s going on in the Capitol.

In this week’s feature are memos for proposals that would ban flavored e-cigarettes in Pennsylvania, eliminate cross-filing for public office candidates and provide scholarship grants to students in Harrisburg schools.

To increase transparency among natural gas companies, Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) will soon be reintroducing legislation that would give property owners more information about their royalty payments. 

Yaw, the chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, says landowners are often left confused by vague deductions on their royalty check stubs. 

The debate on a bill that would require energy companies to purchase alternative energy credits from renewable energy sources — including nuclear power — is poised to be a fiery one next week as the House Consumer Affairs Committee holds their first hearing on the bill sponsored by Rep. Tom Mehaffie (R-Dauphin) that could save Pennsylvania’s nuclear power industry.
 
Mehaffie’s bill creates a third tier in the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, which requires energy distribution companies to purchase certain percentages of power from alternative sources. Opponents of the bill believe it would result in ratepayers subsidizing nuclear power companies, but Mehaffie maintains that the bill is necessary to keep energy rates low in Pennsylvania. 

House lawmakers are considering a bill that aims to cut down on the impact of natural gas drilling by allowing for longer horizontal drilling laterals across multiple units.
 
Sponsored by Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion), HB 247 would allow for cross unit drilling, given that drill operators secure valid leases for the land on which they drill. Supporters of the bill say it would create a less disruptive environment, limiting the amount of drills, well pads, access roads and pipelines necessary for the drilling of natural gas.