Pennsylvania

This report shares findings from a joint study of community benefit plans (CBPs) made by utilities and developers. RMI and the University of Minnesota (UMN) Center for Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (CSTEP) collaborated on the research and analysis.

"If You Fund It, They Will Come," a report by ReImagine Appalachia and Keystone Research Center, found the IRA significantly boosted clean energy investments in Appalachia. Federal clean energy investments in KY, OH, PA, and WV grew 17-fold ($11.5 billion) between 2022-2024, doubling total regional spending from $7.7 billion (2022) to nearly $15.9 billion (2023), with continued growth in 2024. Proposed reconciliation bill drafts threaten this progress, risking jobs, lowering state GDP, and increasing household energy costs. Fact sheets detail these potential harms if IRA provisions are rolled back.

Hart Research conducted a national survey of 1,285 registered voters from June 3-5, 2025. The survey sponsored by Climate Power assesses public reaction to the Republican budget bill's proposed elimination of clean energy investments and tested what voters want Democrats leaders in Congress to do in response.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on recent hurricanes and the government’s disaster response, new polling on renewable energy and grid expansion, and new state polls about energy issues in Pennsylvania, California, and Texas.

Pennsylvanians have mixed attitudes about fracking. Voters in the state overwhelmingly want stronger regulations on the industry, and around four in ten support phasing out fracking completely. Voters in the state are about three times as likely to have positive attitudes than negative attitudes about the clean energy industry (62% favorable / 21% unfavorable). Specific types of clean energy, including solar energy (80% favorable / 11% unfavorable) and wind energy (73% favorable / 16% unfavorable), are even more popular. Meanwhile, voters are closely divided in their attitudes about the oil and gas industry (45% favorable / 44% unfavorable). And while Pennsylvanians have overwhelmingly positive opinions about natural gas (75% favorable / 14% unfavorable), they are more split in their opinions about fracking (44% favorable / 37% unfavorable). More than four in ten voters (83%), including 71% of Republicans, support federal subsidies for clean energy development. Pennsylvanians are also far more supportive of the government spending taxpayer dollars on wind and solar development (84% support / 16% oppose) than on fracking and pipeline development (62% support / 38% oppose).