Pennsylvania has always been the gold standard for ingenuity in the United States. From the signing of the Declaration of Independence, to building the first baseball park in the U.S., we strive to cultivate and build a better community for Pennsylvanians. But unfortunately we’re failing where it matters most — infrastructure.
The U.S. News and World Report ranked Pennsylvania the 29th best state for infrastructure, or conversely the 21st worst state for infrastructure. This only highlights that now is time to take a serious look at how to improve our struggling infrastructure, and it starts with energy development.
The Marcellus and Utica shale formations in the Appalachian Basin are ripe with natural resources that can heat homes and businesses, provide feedstock for electricity generation, and help manufacture products we use every day. Pennsylvania has expanded our energy infrastructure over the last few years, however more needs to be done. Even Forbes pointed out that although we’re “the driving force behind the rise of gas in the U.S. power sector” development has not expanded “as significantly as the state could justify”.
We should be growing our domestic energy foothold, but instead politics and bureaucracy are getting in the way. Companies are forced to fight through years of red tape and political opposition to get pipelines approved. The process is too long and expensive and in the end Pennsylvanians are the ones who suffer.
Quality energy infrastructure is vital to economic growth, development, and improving quality of life in the state. It is time to take a stand and improve our state’s infrastructure before we continue to slip behind the rest of the U.S.