It's as if a light went on.
Eight years ago, PennFuture had to scour Pennsylvania to find clean, renewable energy trend-setters for the advocacy group's annual "green power" awards. Now they're all over the place.
This year's luncheon honored wind, solar, methane, biodiesel and green construction projects. It showcased small businesses and international corporations and government initiatives.
It was a peek of what can be. What should be.
The spike in investment and innovation is testament to forward-looking energy legislation and enthusiastic leadership from Gov. Rendell and Environmental Secretary Kathleen McGinty. The legislature should keep that momentum going in its current energy special session.
Pennsylvania has attracted $1 billion in new alternative and renewable energy investments and created 3,000 jobs since the legislature adopted the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act in 2004. The act sets ambitious goals for sale and generation of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power.
However, with limited resources, the state can support only 10 percent of the requests it receives for economic development funding. It's missing out on the potential for hundreds of millions in new investment - and the jobs that would come with it.
That's why Rendell proposed an $850 million Energy Independence Strategy, which legislators are chewing over in special session. They need to agree on a package - and soon.
Investors, such as Arndt E. Lutz of the German solar company Epuron, a division of Conergy, need clear signals. Epuron is partnering with Exelon and SunTechnics to build the fourth-largest solar power facility in the country in Bucks County. Lutz said last week that while he sees great potential in Pennsylvania, its incentives and regulations aren't as inviting as those in leading states like California.
The time has come for alternative fuels: Oil prices continue to pressure consumers; import dependence imperils national security, and environmental risks are mounting.
On Friday, oil topped $90 a barrel, in part because of tensions in Turkey and northern Iraq. Prices are expected to come back down but remain above $70 a barrel for the foreseeable future. Winter heating prices are expected to increase for all fuels, with oil rising the most, at 22 percent, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Also last week, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment became the first U.S. government agency to reject a permit for a proposed coal-fired power plant because the carbon dioxide emissions would threaten public health and the environment. It could signal a shift in the future of electricity generation.
Indeed, the United States needs an energy direction, and plenty of people are ready to lead the way - starting with PennFuture's 33 award winners last week.
Towns like Upper Dublin and firms like Restaurant Taquet and Studioeec are purchasing 100 percent clean wind power. The Philadelphia Eagles are setting a corporate example by reimbursing employees who buy wind power.
Green construction projects, such as the Friends Center in Philadelphia, demonstrate it's possible to become fossil-fuel free, produce zero global-warming gases, and recycle water.
The Great Valley School District and Kraft Bus Companies have retrofitted school buses with pollution filters and fill their tanks with biodiesel.
Landfills in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties are turning waste and methane into electricity.
The United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh is educating the community on the benefits of compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Pennsylvania led the nation in developing oil and coal. With legislative leadership, it can blaze the trail on renewables, as well.