City & State Pennsylvania
This list was written by journalist Hilary Danailova.

Meet the people making a difference in the sector – and our future.

Ever since America’s first commercial oil well began gushing in Pennsylvania in 1859, the state has profited from a robust energy industry. More recently, conservation and green-energy organizations have sprouted across the commonwealth’s three-quarters-rural landscape, pushing Pennsylvania to diversify into wind, solar and other renewable resources.

The Keystone State is currently America’s second-largest energy exporter and its third-largest coal and electricity producer, while the power generated via from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale – the U.S.’s largest natural gas field – radiates literally and metaphorically beyond state borders. Whether drilling shale, promoting green alternatives or keeping the power grids stable, the people on this list are all helping to write Pennsylvania’s sustainable next chapter.