October 15, 2025 – Bright Space, Energy Innovation Center
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s clean energy transition took center stage at the inaugural Power Shift event, hosted by Exus Renewables in partnership with Sustainable Pittsburgh. Held at the Energy Innovation Center, the session brought together leaders from across the region’s energy ecosystem to explore how policy, market forces, and infrastructure investments are shaping a more resilient and sustainable future.
Setting the Stage
In opening remarks, David Droz, Director of Energy Storage and Strategy at Exus Renewables, framed the conversation around the growing energy imbalance driven by the rapid expansion of data centers. He noted that PJM, the largest power market in North America, is adding roughly 81 gigawatts of new data center demand but less than 50 gigawatts of new generation capacity, creating affordability and capacity challenges that call for urgent action. Droz also emphasized the vital role of collaboration between developers, utilities, and innovators in bridging this gap.
The Discussion: Challenges, Collaboration, and Opportunity
Moderated by Bhavini Patel, Executive Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, the panel featured:
- Mike Speerschneider, Senior Vice President, Policy, Regulatory, Permitting, & Strategy, Exus Renewables
- Lindsay Baxter, Senior Manager, Energy Policy & Public Affairs, Duquesne Light Company
- Leo Kowalski, Director of Transformation, Pennsylvania Solar Center
Together, the panel explored how federal and state policy shifts, from clean energy incentives to permitting reforms, are driving both optimism and complexity for developers, utilities, and communities across Pennsylvania.
Speerschneider opened the conversation by noting that new federal incentives, including provisions in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” have changed the landscape for renewable energy projects. Many of the production and investment tax credits that helped jumpstart large-scale solar, wind, and storage are scheduled to expire by 2027, if they haven’t been eliminated already. He emphasized how, more than ever, projects must balance long-term investment stability with short-term affordability, particularly as tariffs and PJM interconnection delays create uncertainty.
For utilities like Duquesne Light, the path forward is equally complex. Baxter noted that while policy uncertainty can ripple through the market, utilities must stay focused on what customers experience every month: affordability and reliability. DLC has committed to investing over $2.7 billion over the next five years to improve the overall health and resiliency of the company’s system. Balancing near-term affordability with long-term resilience, she explained, remains a constant challenge as demand grows from electrification, artificial intelligence, and data centers.
From the community perspective, Kowalski warned that the expiration of incentives will hit smaller projects the hardest, especially those serving nonprofits, schools, and local governments. He emphasized the importance of creative financing models and sustained collaboration to ensure the energy transition benefits all communities, not just those with ready access to capital. Community-scale solar, he noted, offers one of the best opportunities to expand access and local ownership. Programs like the Pennsylvania Solar Center’s GET Solar initiative show how partnerships and streamlined permitting can help Pennsylvania scale renewable energy while anchoring economic growth and job creation in local communities.
Despite the uncertainty ahead, the panel remained optimistic. Policy support may shift, but the groundwork laid through modernized infrastructure and growing cross-sector partnerships gives Southwestern Pennsylvania a strong foundation to lead.
Themes and Takeaways
Several common threads emerged from the discussion:
- Affordability and reliability remain top priorities as energy demand rises from electrification, AI, and data centers.
- Collaboration among utilities, developers, and policymakers is key to accelerating clean energy adoption while maintaining customer trust.
- Workforce development and community partnerships are essential to ensure that growth in the clean energy sector delivers broad-based benefits.
- Regional leadership will determine whether Southwestern Pennsylvania can model a balanced, pragmatic approach to the national energy transition.
Looking Ahead
Building on the success of this first session, Sustainable Pittsburgh and Exus Renewables plan to continue the Power Shift Speaker Series in 2026, bringing together leaders from across industries to explore emerging energy trends, technologies, and opportunities for collaboration in Southwestern Pennsylvania.