PennFuture announces Keynote and panels for Energy Dialogue 2026
The inaugural event brings together state and local policymakers, energy leaders, labor representatives, environmental and community advocates
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 — PennFuture announced David Roberts, writer and owner of Volts.wtf podcast and newsletter, as the Keynote Speaker at the inaugural PennFuture’s Energy Dialogue 2026: Growing a Sustainable Energy Economy in Pennsylvania on Thursday, June 4, 2026 at the Hershey Country Club.
David Roberts is a leading journalist and commentator on electrification, renewable energy, climate politics, and clean technology innovation. He is the founder and host of the influential Volts podcast/newsletter, where he interviews policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and advocates who are shaping the energy transition.
“It’s an honor to have a renowned climate and renewable energy journalist kicking off this important event, which aims to change how we look at energy solutions that will drive our state economy while also lowering costs for people,” said Patrick McDonnell, President and CEO of PennFuture. “David Roberts brings more than 15 years of experience reporting on renewable energy and has a talent for breaking down often complex energy policies for a broad audience. We’re excited to have him not only as a keynote, but as a panelist.”
Featured panels:
- Building Abundant Energy: Addressing Barriers to Solar Development in Pennsylvania: This panel explores the key barriers slowing solar development in rural Pennsylvania, including land use challenges, grid access limitations, financing gaps, and community concerns. Panelists will discuss practical strategies to overcome these obstacles, from policy solutions to local engagement. We’ll discuss how to unlock solar growth in Pennsylvania while supporting rural economies and preserving community priorities.
- PJM: Opportunities and Solutions: This panel examines the growing challenges within the PJM Interconnection queue that are slowing the integration and expansion of clean energy resources. Panelists will discuss the root causes of interconnection delays, their impact on consumer costs, and emerging strategies to streamline processes, enhance grid capacity, and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.
- Strengthening Our Regional Economies: Developing a Sustainable Business Ecosystem: Sustainable businesses aim to strike a balance between economic, social, and environmental interests. Acting responsibility in these three areas is challenging, and this panel will highlight successes and explore opportunities within Pennsylvania's growing sustainable business sector.
- Renewables as Economic Opportunity: Unionizing the Clean Energy Industry: This panel explores how to ensure that the clean energy industry in Pennsylvania delivers family-sustaining, high-quality jobs through unionization and strong labor standards. Bringing together labor leaders and workforce advocates, the discussion will focus on practical strategies for organizing workers across solar, wind, and storage projects. Panelists will highlight successful examples of unionization and project labor agreements that have improved wages, safety, and career pathways, while also examining policy tools such as prevailing wage laws, community benefit agreements, and state incentives.
- PA's Industrial Future: Decarbonization & Electrification: Pennsylvania sits at a pivotal moment in its energy transition, with opportunities to significantly reduce emissions while strengthening economic growth and grid resilience. This panel will explore the most impactful and practical pathways for decarbonization and electrification across the Commonwealth.
- Sustainable Solutions for Data Center Development: This panel explores the energy challenges data centers present in PA–including rising energy costs, the potential for stranded assets, the economic and environmental consequences of those challenges–and discussion of what solutions to those challenges might look like now and into the future.
- Building Our Energy Future: What would Pennsylvania's future look like if we created economic offramps for fossil energy communities, created policy that strengthened the presence of renewables, and incentivized heavy industry to do the right thing and decarbonize? Join panelists as they discuss PennFuture's latest report, "The PennFuture Playbook: Building Our Energy Future" and explore the possibilities for Pennsylvania's long-term energy future that are available to us when we shift our focus away from extractive industries towards resiliency, efficiency, and sustainable communities.
PennFuture’s Energy Dialogue 2026: Growing a Sustainable Energy Economy in Pennsylvania is a one-day event uniting 150 state and local policymakers, energy leaders, labor representatives, environmental and community advocates, and media professionals. The event aims to change the energy narrative in Pennsylvania from outdated fossil fuel dependence to forward-thinking solutions that lower costs, create family-sustaining union jobs, and strengthen communities through renewable energy and efficiency.
For more information, please visit the event webpage at https://pennfuture.org/Events/details/60/Growing-a-Sustainable-Energy-Economy-in-Pennsylvania
###