Release: New research shows warehouses in PA could power 924,421 homes by going solar
Solar energy is the fastest growing source of new electricity in America and relatively short construction timelines make solar a key component of effort to get enough electrons on the grid to avoid brownouts. Supportive public policies are key to solar expansion, and Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering legislation that would encourage rooftop solar on Pennsylvania warehouses. This legislation would establish solar-ready standards for new large warehouse construction and authorize local incentives to retrofit existing warehouses with solar arrays.
Keystone Research Center has generated updated estimates of Pennsylvania’s warehouse rooftop solar potential in each PA county and legislative district.
Statewide, Pennsylvania has an estimated 581 million square feet of warehouse rooftop space suitable for solar, which could generate 9,391 GWh of electricity and power 924,421 households annually.
Find the potential of warehouse solar in your county by clicking on the map below. Find the potential of warehouse solar in your state house and senate districts in the tables below the map.
Methodology notes: Estimates shown are through year-end 2024. Keystone Research Center estimates are based on data and estimates from Penn Environment’s 2023 report for Solar on Warehouses, here: https://environmentamerica.org/pennsylvania/center/resources/solar-onwarehouses/, Northeast city and county Commercial Building Inventory data, QCEW Establishment data for warehouses in Pennsylvania, and Missouri Census Data Center’s Geographic Correspondence Engine (Geocorr 2022). Estimates were modeled for the county level and allocated to state house and senate districts using a geographic correspondence engine with land area as the weighting variable.