Latest news with #SolarforSchool
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pa. awards $22.5 million in Solar for Schools grants to help 73 schools reduce energy costs
A solar array. (Robert Zullo/ States Newsroom) Pennsylvania has awarded grants totaling $22.5 million to 73 schools across the state to help pay for solar energy installations, the Commonwealth Financing Authority announced Tuesday. The awards under the Department of Community and Economic Development's Solar for Schools program will provide up to $500,000 to each school. The solar arrays they help pay for could save school districts millions of dollars in energy costs, state Rep. Elizabeth Fieldler (D-Philadelphia) said. 'I am so happy for each of these schools and excited to see names from nearly every corner of the state,' Fiedler, who introduced legislation to create the program last year, said. 'I've heard from rural schools who plan to include their solar panels in agricultural education and from city schools that are thinking strategically about rooftop solar with limited space. I have no doubt that the recipients will benefit from the program's flexibility to meet their school's needs and to make the most of their strengths.' The grant awards come as the legislature is preparing for the final month before the state budget is due June 30. The current budget included up to $25 million for the Solar for Schools program and Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed to match that amount in the upcoming budget. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Fiedler's bill, which passed both chambers of the General Assembly with broad bipartisan support last summer, was created as a way to address the school funding crisis, rising utility costs and climate change together, her office said. 'As energy costs rise, diversifying our energy sources is more important than ever. Increased energy usage throughout the country also puts us at a higher risk because of the inadequate power grid,' state Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Greene) said. 'Schools that use solar panels will counteract that problem by improving Pennsylvania's energy security and lowering costs – saving millions of dollars of taxpayer money.' It also received strong support from building trade unions, whose members will benefit from the construction jobs the grants help to create. 'These new projects through Solar for Schools will open up doors for workers across the state,' said Robert S. Bair, president of the Pennsylvania Building Trades Council. 'Energy jobs are crucial in Pennsylvania. Labor needs to be on the forefront of growing industries like solar.' Union support was, in part, the result of a yearslong effort to strengthen relationships between environmental and labor advocates, who recognize the adoption of renewable energy sources requires skilled workers just as fossil fuel plants do. In the initial round of applications for Solar for School, districts from rural, suburban and urban areas requested $88 million, more than three times the amount available in the current budget. The grants awarded totaled less than the full $25 million because the money is divided between three regions and the DCED did not find enough qualifying applications in one of them, Fiedler said. While interest in renewable energy is growing and political support for such programs is broadening, solar energy still faces hurdles in state government. With the overwhelming response to the initial appropriation, Fiedler said she is hopeful that at least another $25 million Solar for Schools will be approved as part of the next budget. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State College, Cambria Heights schools awarded over $800k from Solar for School funds
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — Cambria Heights and State College schools will receive more than $800,000 in state funding to help pay for solar energy projects, Senator Wayne Langerholc Jr. announced Tuesday. A total of $836,810 will be awarded from the Solar for School funds — $437,522 to The Cambria Heights School District and $399,288 to the State College School District. Cambria Heights will be installing a 358-kilowatt roof-mounted system at Cambria Heights Elementary. The funds will be used to purchase and install, as well as engineering, administrative operations and maintenance costs. Langerholc said the total price of the project is $875,044 and will result in an average annual savings of $58,989. State College will use its $300,000 towards the installation of a 630-kilowatt photovoltaic system on the roof of Park Forest Middle School. The total project is expected to cost $1.1 million with average annual savings of $79,095. Another $99,288 will be used for Mount Nittany Elementary School, according to the full list of approved projects. 'Solar energy can help school districts reduce their energy costs and save taxpayer dollars,' Langerholc said. 'I'm pleased to help secure funding that will allow schools to cover upfront costs for projects that will provide long-term savings.' The grants were awarded through the Solar for Schools Grant Program, created in 2024 and funded by the 2024-25 funding was approved by the Commonwealth Financing Authority, an independent agency of the Department of Community and Economic Development that administers many of Pennsylvania's economic development and community improvement programs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
