Adam Forgie: We must build on, not kill, clean energy momentum

We are in the midst of an energy boom. Since 2019, America’s energy production has exceeded our consumption. Under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, America is producing more energy than any time in history, and Pennsylvania is at the heart of it.

While we are producing more oil and natural gas than any other time in history, renewable energy sources now account for more than half of all energy jobs in Pennsylvania.

I’m in the middle of my third term as mayor of Turtle Creek, where my family has lived for five generations. My family worked in plants that have since shut down. I know how devastating it is for parents to lose their livelihoods overnight and to wonder how they’re going to put food on the table to feed their kids.

I also know how resilient and resourceful Pennsylvanians are. Today, we’re helping lead the charge for a national clean energy boom that is creating good-paying jobs to help bring energy costs down. Made-in-America manufacturing is back, with construction spending for manufacturing reaching its highest level in 60 years. I couldn’t be more thrilled that Turtle Creek is a part of that boom.

Last year, Eos Energy Enterprises announced Project American Made Zinc Energy (Project AMAZE), a $500 million investment to expand its Turtle Creek battery manufacturing facility. Eos said the expansion, which is slated to create 650 full-time jobs and 50 union construction jobs, was part of its strategy “to address increased long-duration energy storage demand driven by the Inflation Reduction Act.”

This didn’t happen by accident — this is what happens when an administration prioritizes revitalizing towns like mine that have been left behind. For parents like me, it means the world to see good-paying jobs come back to our community, which gives our kids the opportunity to stay here to make a living and raise a family.

Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy plan, which includes the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, more than 330,000 new clean energy jobs have been created by private companies. This number will only continue to grow over the coming decades — if our administrations continue to invest in clean energy.

These are good-paying jobs, many of which don’t require a college degree. Many of them are unionized, which is also no accident. As vice president, Harris announced a $100 million investment in union training programs in the electric vehicle industry as well as a $1.7 billion grant program to boost EV manufacturing, which enabled manufacturers to retain 15,000 union workers and create over 2,900 new jobs.

This is what it looks like when America seizes leadership in supporting industries and technology that will dominate the coming decades. But this is also how we finally make energy bills affordable. Clean energy costs are already dropping dramatically, and the more clean energy we produce, the lower costs will get.

Because of the ramp up in clean energy production, the cost of wind and solar has decreased by 54% and 37%, respectively, dipping lower than coal, oil, and methane gas. Energy bills for the average family are estimated to drop by $1,000 each year with the expanded use of clean energy.

The question is why people like Donald Trump and JD Vance want to crush clean energy. While Biden and Harris have overseen an unprecedented energy boom, it’s Trump and Vance who are waging a war on American clean energy — including Pennsylvania energy.

During his presidency, Trump’s war on clean energy cost Americans 1.1 million clean energy jobs. He’s now vowing to double down, promising to end clean energy investments, threatening our clean energy boom and putting 1.7 million jobs at risk.

Maybe it’s because Trump held a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago with Big Oil executives where he offered them a “deal” to shut down clean energy while they raise a billion dollars for his campaign. Big Oil was one of the greatest financial beneficiaries of Trump’s 2017 tax law, enjoying $25 billion in tax breaks as a result of its passage.

Trump doesn’t care about workers — he cares about himself and his fellow billionaires. As president, Trump delayed or canceled at least 1,500 regulatory actions, many of which rolled back worker safety protections. Under Trump’s presidency, wages for manufacturing workers declined.

In the “deal” that Trump promised Big Oil executives, it’s the jobs in my town and lower costs for all of us that are being traded away. It might be a win-win for Trump and the executives, but it’s a big lose-lose for the rest of us.

Turtle Creek and the rest of Pennsylvania are already benefiting from the clean energy boom. We need a president who is committed to providing all Americans with more affordable energy options — not jeopardizing our country’s future as a leader in manufacturing clean energy technology.

Adam Forgie is the mayor of Turtle Creek Borough.