2 weeks Ago
Legislators, school administrators and labor leaders gathered Thursday at Greene County Career and Technology Center in Waynesburg to celebrate the passage of Solar for Schools, a grant program to help Pennsylvania school districts fund and install solar arrays to power K-12 buildings, community colleges, and career and technical schools. Energy cost is one of the highest expenses for school districts in Pennsylvania, and state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Philadelphia, prime sponsor of Solar for Schools – a bill that passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov.
Josh Shapiro – said on-site solar can save school districts millions of dollars in energy bills over the life of the project, while lowering costs for taxpayers, creating good-paying jobs, and contributing to a healthier planet. “We are so excited about the passage of Solar For Schools, which we know will be a great tool for school districts to be able to generate your own electricity, to be able to have a sort of budget predictability and stability, and of course to save taxpayers millions of dollars over the life of the array,” said Fiedler, who spent 18 months visiting schools across the state discussing the program. The Solar for Schools grants will cover the costs to purchase and install equipment, permit fees, energy storage and utility interconnection.
In addition, $25 million from the state budget will be earmarked to fund the program to allow schools to implement solar energy. State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Beaver/Greene/Washington, who supported the bill, said Solar for Schools will benefit the 19 public school districts and three career and technology centers in Washington and Greene counties.
“The administrators of these schools are all looking for ways to move the needle ahead on efficiency, and this program is here to help,” said Bartolotta. “This program will not only help our schools move forward with energy efficiency, but also allow us to bring back federal dollars to our communities from the Inflation Reduction Act while also creating family-sustaining jobs locally.” She called Southwestern Pennsylvania “the energy capital of the world,” saying, “We have robust homegrown natural resources right here under our feet supporting our nation’s needs.
This announcement today only adds to our legacy of energy production and diversity. These solar projects are good for our schools, they are good for our workforce and good for our future.” According to a fact sheet on Fiedler’s website, Pennsylvania school districts that have already transitioned to solar energy have reaped benefits, with some eliminating their energy bills.
The money saved can be reinvested back into their classrooms. Midd-West School District in Snyder County installed 5,130 solar panels on 10 acres at the Middleburg campus and West Snyder Elementary School in 2020, reducing their annual $420,000 electrical bill by about $145,000. They expect to save $9 million over 40 years.
Steelton-Highspire, an urban school district in Dauphin County, installed a ground-mounted solar system in 2022, offsetting 100% of the district’s annual consumption of electric energy for its two school buildings. The district expects to save $1.6 million over 20 years.
“The dollars can be reinvested in educational opportunities, whatever is the best fit for the school,” said Fiedler. In the U.S.
, more than 800 K-12 schools added new solar arrays in 2022-23, and over the last 10 years, the amount of solar capacity at K-12 schools has more than quadrupled, according to a report by Generation 180, a nonprofit clean energy advocacy group. Fiedler said the passage of Solar for Schools was made possible with overwhelming support from both parties, and a coalition of labor, educational, environmental and faith groups. Among the groups attending Thursday’s press conference were representatives from the Clean Air Council, Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), and Greene County schools.
Lois Bower-Bjornson, outreach coordinator for Clean Air Council, called the passage of Solar for Schools “a monumental win for Pennsylvanians, the environment, schools, and the workforce.” “Helping Pennsylvania schools leverage this resource and in the process benefit from energy savings while having clean air is fantastic all the way around,” she said. West Greene School District Superintendent Brian Jackson said the rural school district has considered transitioning to solar energy and will apply for the grant.
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development has until Oct. 15 to establish guidelines for the program, and applications are expected to open to school districts shortly after..
