Pennsylvania remains the only state involved in the “shale revolution” without a severance tax on its natural gas drilling. This lack of a severance tax results in year after year of lost revenue.

Gov. Tom Wolfe’s budget proposal includes a severance tax on natural gas revenue. Part of the plan for this revenue is to support clean energy initiatives like the Sunshine Solar and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebate programs. The Sunshine Solar program supports the solar industry by providing a rebate to individuals who invest in solar energy. The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebate program provides a rebate to individuals who buy alternative fuel vehicles.

Both programs helped convince me to invest in newer clean energy technologies by offering state assistance. In 2011, I installed 30 roof-mounted solar panels on my house. The solar panel system provides 100 percent of the electricity used in my home and even provides a surplus that I use as a fuel source for my electric car, which I bought in 2013. My solar panels and electric car are all the equipment I need to achieve energy independence.

Programs like the Pennsylvania Sunshine Solar Program and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebate Program, if funded by a severance tax, can help pave the way to a more energy independent Pennsylvania and a more energy independent country. This is the future — where each household owns all of the equipment necessary to actively control and achieve energy independence.

Please join me in supporting a severance tax on natural gas revenue to help Pennsylvania promote clean energy initiatives for tomorrow and shift the state toward individual household energy independence.