Pennsylvania Legacies

Last month the PA state House unanimously approved legislation requiring utilities to consider Advanced Transmission Technologies (ATTs) -- hardware and software innovations that make the electric grid smarter and more efficient -- in their infrastructure planning. As the Senate takes up HB 2223, we're republishing our 2025 interview with Jenny Netherton of the Pew Charitable Trusts and Chris D'Agostino of Advanced Energy United. Plus, PEC's John Walliser has an overview of pending energy legislation heading into the General Assembly's busiest season.

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) occur when nutrient-rich runoff enters lakes and ponds, creating favorable conditions for bacteria that produce potent cyanotoxins. In addition to the usual negative environmental impacts associated with too much algae in freshwater, HABs can seriously sicken people and animals. A new Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District project funded through PEC's Pocono Forests and Waters Conservation Landscape Mini-Grants program aims to educate northeastern Pennsylvanians on the dangers of HABs and how to prevent them from occurring.

Phoenix Contact USA's facility near Harrisburg is more than a green workplace -- it's a proving ground for the technologies driving Pennsylvania's transition to clean energy and electrification. Learn about the sustainability innovations that have won the company five Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence.

Conversation with Meg Lemieur, Sierra Weir, and Spencer Verney -- the talented inaugural cohort of PEC's new artist residency program -- about their experiences learning about and depicting special places in the Susquehanna River Basin.

"Proudly Made: A Story of Reinvention in the Big Woods and Small Towns of
the Pennsylvania Wilds" is a manual for postindustrial communities looking to leverage nature-based tourism for economic development. But it's much more than that -- it's also the story of author Ta Enos's journey from rural northwestern Pennsylvania to the world beyond, and the vision that brought her back home to help reinvent the region. We talk with the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship founder and director about her memoir, recently recognized with the Governor's Keystone Award.