Matt Stepp wants to steer the conversation about Pennsylvania's renewable energy prospects toward their potential economic impact.
“We really don't often hear the impact that the clean energy industries have in this state and what good environmental policies have,” said Stepp, the new policy director for PennFuture. “I want to work more to highlight the economic impacts of these industries and how we can engage the state's economic policies to help those industries.”
Stepp, 30, of Philadelphia joined the statewide conservation and environmental advocacy group in April. He plans to direct its efforts toward pushing for more oversight of fossil fuel energy sectors. He wants to work with the shale gas industry that established itself here over the past decade rather than try to eradicate it.
He sees a pragmatic approach and economics-driven mission at Penn-Future, which drew him to the group from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, D.C. There he struggled against congressional gridlock to promote progressive energy and climate change policies.
PennFuture is “looking for solutions; they're trying to work with all stakeholders, both sides of the political aisle, and trying to move forward with positive environmental policies,” he said.
Stepp plans to focus on aspects of the shale industry that he thinks need tighter regulation, such as methane emissions, and a severance tax proposed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to boost funding for more sustainable energy sources.
“Pennsylvania is kind of in this very unique position,” he said. “There's a lot going on in this state that makes it a ground zero for these energy and environmental issues.”
Stepp considers the severance tax a fair mandate, despite industry opposition, especially to a proposed minimum price for its calculation that is below today's gas prices. Some project the price to increase over the next year, he noted.
“It's a very important issue both from an economics fairness piece, but also for the idea that natural gas is good in the short term, if we take care of methane in terms of climate, but we also need to think about natural gas as a bridge to the future,” he said.
When he's not crafting policy, Stepp, a meteorologist by training, is an active home brewer. He says he makes a mean black IPA. He's also looking to get involved in civic organizations in his new Philadelphia neighborhood where he bought a house with his wife, Heidi.
A member of the American Meteorological Society, he studied meteorology at Millersville University.
