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What a green future could look like for the Lehigh Valley By EVAN JONES | [email protected] | The Morning Call | PUBLISHED: April 28, 2023 Imagine driving along Route 22, Interstate 78 or Route 33 and being surrounded by lush, green foliage. Being in a wooded area may take a bit of stress off your drive, but all those trees and plants along those highways may be a key in reducing carbon emissions in the Lehigh Valley. Carbon farming is a program the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is looking to implement along busy highways in the region that will be part of shrinking emissions in upcoming years. “This is an opportunity to do a ton of carbon reduction work,” LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley said. “Public right of ways are some of the most underutilized assets that exist out there. There are opportunities to plant native grasses along those that will reduce runoff and help preserve the plant infrastructures there that provide pollination and bird migratory pathways that are so critical to that key element of the system of bird migration in the nation. We can make our Lehigh Valley look better when you drive to it and through it.” Bradley’s presentation was part of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Sustainability Summit, held Friday morning at the Club at Twin Lakes in North Whitehall Township. The LVPC, PPL Services Corp. and PJM Interconnection were on hand to explore ways to protect the environment, and even make some money by utilizing green energy. Bradley said that when the LVPC surveys the public on its priorities, protecting the environment is almost always near the top. “Something that always stands out to us on the LVPC team is the fact that every single survey that we’ve done for the last several decades, the community has been prioritizing nature and natural resources in our natural environment,” Bradley said. “As high up (in the surveys) is our economy and jobs followed by another 90% to 95% of folks that are focusing on climate change and then the associated climate action as a priority.” The LVPC has been working on creating a climate action plan and has already put together a greenhouse gas inventory with help from the state Department of Environmental Protection and Moravian University. The survey found that the Valley produced 9.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2019, or 3.7% of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions. More than 60% of the emissions come from industrial electricity and natural gas for transportation sources, and the next largest emitter is residential energy at 20%. Bradley said those numbers will be used as a baseline when setting future environmental goals, though there will be challenges in future years as the Valley grows in population and jobs and more land is put aside for development. Emissions are expected to grow to more than 10 million metric tons in 2049. “Future greenhouse gas emissions within the Lehigh Valley will be impacted by multiple factors such as population and employment growth, land use patterns and development, economic activity, energy efficiency and transportation,” she said. “This is why we have to work on all of those things to help at the same time, it is our part to make sure that we’re reducing those emissions.” Bradley noted that more than 20 million square feet of industrial space has been proposed and approved by local governments in the past six years, while another 21.8 million square feet are currently in the review pipeline. “And we received a set of plans yesterday that is 3½ feet tall for over 5 million additional square feet of proposed industrial in Upper Mount Bethel Township,” Bradley said. “So this is not slowing down the industrial development that is being proposed. That reinforces the need to do more across all sectors.” The LVPC is currently putting together a carbon reduction plan and has received $67.1 million in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help accomplish this goal. The organization recently received an additional $1 million from the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program. Bradley said the LVPC is working toward implementing a permanent air and water quality monitoring program, as well as regional electric and alternative fuel development strategy and a clean freight corridor program with neighboring planning organizations. On the grid Skyler Marzewski, senior market design specialist for PJM, said that in the not too distant future, there will be distributed energy resources and microgrids where companies can sell excess energy to the wholesale markets instead of a local utility. Companies or individuals with solar panels, or even an electric vehicle battery, could make a small profit. Rules are currently being worked on by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “They’re trying to make it so that anyone can participate,” Marzewski said. “Someone as small as 100 kilowatts can participate within PJM wholesale markets. You can have solar, you can have a battery, you have an electric vehicle, for example. With electric vehicles you’re hopefully having a bi-directional meaning that you can charge from the grid as well as charge to the grid.” As far as the increase in the number of EVs and its effect on the power grid, Marzewski said it depends on where they are hooked up. “It depends on where it is at the end of the day,” he said. An area with a single power line can be overburdened, while an area with several can absorb the charging stations. “We need to be aware of it so that we can help plan for it,” Marzewski said. “So this occurs at the distribution level as well as wholesale level typically. We have to be aware of it to make sure that we are able to support the transmission system.” James Rouland, manager of regulatory policy for PPL Services, urged businesses that want to switch to a fleet of electric vehicles to reach out and communicate with utility companies. “The key to the energy transition being successful is you and your participation,” he said. “We all need business input support and participation to support this evolution that’s underway.”