Not one seat flipped in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 2024 election—locking the purple state into another two years of a Democrat controlled House with a one-seat majority.

Republicans regained control of the Senate, leaving the swing state with the same political makeup as present.

What this means for community solar legislation isn’t exactly clear, as some critics have argued that the Senate needs to turn blue in order for community solar legislation to get across the finish line.

Pennsylvania House Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-134, and community solar bill sponsor, disagrees with the critics.

“I’ll absolutely be willing to negotiate with Republicans in the Senate or whomever if need be, to try and get it (community solar bill) to a place that folks feel comfortable with,” Schweyer said in an interview with NPM.

About five community solar bills have been introduced in Pennsylvania over the years, House Bill (HB) 1842, the Community Solar Act, as sponsored by Schweyer, advanced the furthest when it cleared the House in the Spring. The bill, however, is expected to die in the Senate committee over the next few weeks.

“It feels as if the Senate Republicans don’t want to give it away for free,” Schweyer said, noting that he has however seen increasing interest from them over the last few months.

Schweyer vouched to make a renewed push next year.

“We’re going to introduce it right at the bat—one of the first batches of bills introduced,” Schweyer said. “It will be assigned to the Consumers Affairs Committee and my hope is that they run with it quickly.”

Schweyer said he does not intend to make any changes to the bill, which was crafted and introduced in the middle of the last legislative session.

“I don’t see how making any big changes is going to change its fate, but it will still be subject to negotiations once we get to that place,” Schweyer said.

Schweyer added that lots of work went into the bill, working with various stakeholders to make sure the bill was crafted in a way that was ready to go.

“I’m going to continue to own this one. It’s a policy I believe in,” Schweyer said.

*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM subscribers.

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