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Bills promoting solar energy pass out of house committee
Stacy Wescoe//November 18, 2025//
Listen to this articleThe Pennsylvania House Energy Committee voted Tuesday on two bills intended to advance clean energy generation in the state.
House Bill 2017, sponsored by Rep. Jose Giral, D-Phila, would authorize the Department of Environmental Protection to reduce annual fees for Small Modular Nuclear systems. The bill was reported out of committee unanimously.
“I’m proud of the unanimous vote on H.B. 2017: it’s a testament to the Energy Committee’s bipartisan efforts to support commonsense legislation that removes barriers to investment to the Commonwealth,” said House Energy Committee Chair Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila. “Soaring energy costs make it clear that we need to get more generation on the grid. Since SMRs are less costly to construct than traditional nuclear projects and are just as reliable, I’m eager to see projects break ground in Pennsylvania within the next decade.”
House Bill 1260, sponsored by Rep. Josh Siegel, D-Lehigh, known as the Solar Warehouses bill, advanced to the House floor with amendments. If enacted, the bill would require newly constructed warehouses and distribution centers to be built to accommodate solar panels and encourage existing warehouses to be retrofitted for them through a tax incentive.
The House Energy Committee previously held a public hearing on the bill in October.
“It is crucial for Pennsylvania to lead when it comes to lowering costs for our residents,” Siegel said. “H.B.1260 incentivizes warehouses to be built solar-ready, which not only will help keep energy prices lower by adding capacity to the grid, it also will add good paying jobs to our economy.”
