Solar power grant program opens Nov. 1
State schools may apply for funds
Sentinel photo by SIERRA BOLGER<br> Pictured is State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler speaking about Solar for Schools at a Sunday press conference at the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 building.
Sentinel photo by SIERRA BOLGER<br> Pictured is State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff speaking about Solar for Schools at the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 building.
Sentinel photo by SIERRA BOLGER<br> Pictured is State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler speaking about Solar for Schools at a Sunday press conference at the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 building.
Sentinel photo by SIERRA BOLGER<br> Pictured is State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff speaking about Solar for Schools at the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 building.
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MCVEYTOWN -- Beginning Friday, Nov. 1, school districts across Pennsylvania can apply for a new grant program offering solar panels as a viable option for the future.
Solar for Schools is a grant program to fund solar energy projects at schools across Pennsylvania. This project will save schools money on high energy costs, create family-sustaining jobs, drive federal dollars into Pennsylvania, and support the commonwealth's transition to clean energy.
State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler and Kerry Benninghoff spoke at a news conference Sunday afternoon at the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 building.
Fiedler and Benninghoff announced that program organizers will accept applications from local school districts for the new Solar for Schools Grant program from Nov. 1, 2024, through Jan. 31, 2025.
Fiedler shared that she and Benninghoff have been working to pass this bill in the legislative branch for two years.
"It has been a true pleasure to come up with the concept of solar for schools, to work on the legislative, and then to see it through the legislature with strong support," said Fiedler.
She added that the legislation has bipartisan support from the House of Representatives as well as bipartisan support in the Senate.
"Energy prices are only going up and it's hard to tell what is going to happen next," said Fiedler. "The more tools we give our schools so they can deal with their costs, so they can put those dollars back into the education and enrichment of the next generation of Pennsylvania and being able to save money for taxpayers."
This program aims to reduce the cost of implementing solar energy systems in schools across the Commonwealth.
In order to accomplish this goal, the Department of Community and Economic Development established a grant program that school districts, intermediate units, charter schools including cyber, regional, and a school for the education of the deaf or the blind, area career and technical schools, specific trade and technical schools, and community colleges can use to fund solar energy projects.
These grants will help in the purchase and installation of equipment, permit fees, energy storage, and utility interconnection.
Mandy Book, deputy secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) shared that she anticipates this grant program will be very competitive.
DCED was tasked with administering this program, partnering up with the Department of Education and the Department of Environmental Protection.
Applicants that can apply include school districts, intermediate units, area career and technical schools, charter schools, cyber charter schools, charter schools for the education of the deaf or blind, community colleges, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, and the Pennsylvania College of Technology.
Applicants can find more information including guidelines, how to get a site assessment, and more at www.dced.pa.gov.