If the polls can be believed, Tom Wolf will be our next Governor. If so, there may be some interesting prospects ahead for this area.
On Wolf’s website, one of his initiatives in particular, support for renewable energy, stands out as having the potential to positively affect Northumberland and nearby counties.
Lack of good paying employment, caused in part by the demise of the coal industry, has plagued our area for many decades. Past efforts to stimulate the local economy have been ineffectual at best, colossal wastes of tax payer money at worst. But if done correctly, a comprehensive plan to develop renewable technology could provide the boost our area needs and make us a leader in green energy.
While there are as of yet few details on Wolf’s website about just how he would stimulate the alternate energy sector, hopefully they would include the reuse of some of the abandoned buildings and properties in our area, of which many have already been taxpayer subsidized, to produce solar panels, wind turbines, and the ancillary equipment needed to generate clean power.
Workers who’ve lost their jobs in the anthracite industry could have access to retraining, and former anthracite businesses given the opportunity to bid on projects. Vocational training schools, trade unions, and government agencies could coordinate with local suppliers, manufacturers, and installers to educate and train our workforce for the production, installation, and maintenance of clean energy equipment.
Northumberland County has the facilities, the work force, and the drive, what we need now is a plan and the investment.
All of this would, of course, cost money. Whether by subsidies, tax breaks, or other financial assistance, funds would be needed to help get clean energy companies running. As we still do this for dirty fuels and long established, multi-billion dollar companies that provide fewer and fewer jobs, I see no problem with publically helping the burgeoning clean energy field. So long as any company involved is made to guarantee how many jobs they will create, and at what wage, (unlike our past economic stimulation failures) the benefits should far outweigh the costs.
Also by assuring local schools and other public institutions the availability of solar panels, wind turbines, and other energy saving hardware at a discounted rate, taxpayers may, in the long term, realize a net savings. Our citizens, too, would have access to locally produced products that save them on their utility bills, pumping more money into the area’s economy.
Alternate energy has nearly reached parity in cost with fossil fuels, so when the savings to public welfare, long term unemployment compensation, and the boost to the tax base are added in, such a plan makes even more sense.
It may be premature to speculate about what Wolf will do, or even if he will be elected at all. This may be nothing more than speculation, but there’s certainly no harm in daring to dream about a better future for our area.