The Smartest Energy Policy Is Already in Bucks County

One of the largest natural gas power plants in America is in Bucks County.

In fact, Bucks County is among the top 130 energy-producing counties nationwide which places it in the top 6% in the country.

Yet when people think of Bucks County, they picture Washington Crossing, charming river towns, family farms and thriving suburban communities. Few would guess that it has become one of Pennsylvania's energy powerhouses.

Bucks County's energy mix also tells an important story.

While most its electricity is generated by the natural gas-fired Fairless Energy Center, the county's remaining power comes from a diverse mix of waste-to-energy facilities, landfill gas projects, solar installations and a handful of smaller generating resources.

Individually, those sources produce a share of the county's electricity. Collectively, however, they demonstrate an important principle: a resilient electric grid is not built on a single technology.

Together, they illustrate why Pennsylvania's energy future must ensure every reliable source of electricity has a place on the grid.

Electricity has become the foundation of nearly every conversation about Pennsylvania's economic future.

The Commonwealth sits atop one of the largest natural gas formations in the world. It is home to one of America's largest nuclear fleets. Hydroelectric facilities have powered communities for generations. Solar development continues to expand. Battery technology is improving rapidly. Even waste products that once filled landfills are now generating electricity for the grid.

Each resource has strengths. Each has limitations. None, by itself, can satisfy every need.

That is especially true as electricity demand begins to grow after decades of relative stability.

Artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, electrification and data centers are all expected to require enormous amounts of reliable electricity in the years ahead. Pennsylvania has an opportunity to meet that demand, but only if we embrace every resource capable of producing affordable, dependable power.

Bucks County offers an instructive example.

Without the Fairless Energy Center, Bucks County would produce only a fraction of the electricity it does today. Without landfill gas, waste-to-energy facilities and solar generation, it would be less resilient and less diversified. Every one of those resources contributes something meaningful to the overall system.

The lesson extends far beyond Bucks County.

For too long, energy policy has been framed as a choice between competing technologies. It doesn't have to be. Pennsylvania's greatest advantage is not that we have abundant natural gas, or nuclear power, or renewables. Our greatest advantage is that we have all of them.

Few states possess the combination of resources, infrastructure and skilled workforce necessary to generate electricity from such a wide variety of sources.

That diversity should be viewed as a competitive advantage, not a political liability.

A stronger grid is built through balance. Consumers benefit when electricity is reliable. Businesses invest where power is dependable. Manufacturers expand where energy is affordable.

As Pennsylvania competes for the next generation of jobs and investment, our energy strategy should be simple: produce more electricity, from more sources, while keeping it reliable and affordable. That's not an "either-or" approach. It's an "all of the above" strategy rooted in common sense.

Bucks County has shown us what that looks like.  Believe it or not, that story began more than a century ago.

In 1893, residents of Newtown gathered to watch the town's first electric lights flicker to life from a small local generating station powered by a 150-horsepower steam engine.

At the time, few could have imagined that Bucks County would one day become one of America's premier energy-producing regions. Progress depends on producing the power people need to live, work and prosper.

From a single dynamo lighting Newtown's streets to the Fairless Energy Center powering the region, Bucks County has been helping power Pennsylvania for generations.

Athan Koutsiouroumbas is a managing director at Long Nyquist and Associates and a former congressional chief of staff. Follow him on X at @Athan_K.