Sentinel photo by BRADLEY KREITZER
Construction continues on land behind Mifflin County High School as the school district installs a solar array to provide power to several district buildings. The project is expected to save the district nearly $9 million over the next 30 years.

LEWISTOWN — The removal of a grove of trees behind Mifflin County High School has sparked scrutiny of a solar energy project being undertaken by Mifflin County School District that was first discussed by the district’s board of directors in May 2020.

Although the removal of greenery may seem incongruous with an effort to “go green” in energy production, the move is expected to save the district — and its taxpayers — money in the long run.

The board initially heard a presentation in May 2020 from HB McClure, a Harrisburg-based company that performs commercial ventilation and plumbing work, as to the feasibility of using solar energy in the district as a means of cuttings its power bill. The presentation identified several sites that could have been used for solar panel installation — so-called solar farms — as well as rooftop panel installation (as has been done at East Derry Elementary School).

Discussions by the board more recently focused on a plan to install solar panels at the district’s Reedsville property, which ran into a snag when Brown Township declined to offer a zoning variance that would have allowed the installation to take place there. Mifflin County Superintendent Vance Varner said in an email to The Sentinel that McClure Co. is working with a real estate attorney for possible solutions related to that plan.

In the meantime, Varner said, the district moved forward with what appeared to be the most sensible, and cost effective, plan to provide solar power to the district — which does not include additional rooftop panel installation.

“The roof systems are not as desirable due to maintenance issues down the road,” Varner explained. “The entire system (panels, structures, and bases) would need removed and reinstalled while replacing the roof. This is very costly.”

Plus, he said, it is more difficult to track down and repair roof leaks under the panel system.

Although the site of the former Highland Park Elementary School was identified by McClure as a potential location, the decision not to use that property was two-fold, Varner said.

“It would take the entire property for a central array,” he said, noting that the district currently uses that property for athletics, and because there was a desire to keep the panels from being too close to residential homes, which surround the site.

“Once the current site was identified as large enough to supply all the schools in close proximity and were within the required radius, it made sense to have one central array that supplies the high school, junior high, admin building, Lewistown Elementary, middle school and Lewistown Intermediate School,” he said.

There is an upfront cost to the project, which is being paid out of the district’s capital reserve fund. The estimated $1.5 million investment does not include the solar panels, which will cost the district nothing, Varner said.

“This includes a new roof on the middle school, replacement of the failed chiller on the middle school and Highland Park demolition (and) site restoration,” he explained. “The McClure Co. received tax credits for (solar) construction. Since the district is a non-profit and unable to benefit from tax credits, it is common to use a third party for the construction of these projects so that the construction costs can be greatly reduced by the tax credits.

“ESCO (Energy Service Company) projects typically use part of the savings to fund construction costs to reduce or eliminate upfront capital outlays.”

The project has guaranteed energy savings for the district, Varner said.

“$300,000 would be the average annual savings over 30 years,” he said. “Our anticipated 30-year savings is $8.944 million.”