Centre County solar project takes big step forward as first — and largest — entity signs on

After years in the works and recent controversies, a solar power purchase agreement between ten local governments in Centre County took a major step forward Monday when the State College Area School District officially committed to the agreement.

The SCASD will be the first entity to officially sign onto the SPPA, of which the school district will be the largest user, set to receive 54% of the energy produced. The school board voted unanimously to authorize the district to prepare the final contract documents to enter into a 15-year contract with solar developer Prospect 14, where the district will purchase clean energy at a lower rate than what it’s currently being offered at.

The district is committing to an annual fixed rate for 80% of its electricity usage and will see an estimated annual savings of $190,290 and an estimated savings of $2.9 million over 15 years, Chris Rosenblum, the district’s communications director, wrote in a news release.

During Monday’s meeting, school board president Amy Bader extended thanks to those who have spent time working on the SPPA over the years.

“(The SPPA) represents years of hard work by a multitude of individuals, and in particular, I want to acknowledge the work of our civil servants in carrying out the goals of the elected officials,” Bader said. “This includes our own (Finance and Operations Officer) Randy Brown, who’s been a very dedicated lead member of this process, as well as County Administrator John Franek and COG Sustainability Planner Pamela Adams. These are all dedicated individuals who have put in enormous amounts of time and energy to engage with dozens of officials and consultants.”

Calling it a “pretty groundbreaking effort,” Bader also recognized the hardships that were faced throughout the project’s timeline. She said “good things take time,” in reference to the delays the working group encountered.

The project has also not been without controversy, with some elected officials sparring over local radio and in public meetings about aspects of the SPPA, including unforeseen legal fees. Last week, State College Borough Council member Josh Portney even held a press conference to voice his concerns with the SPPA and propose potentially cheaper alternatives to the agreement that still utilize solar energy.

With SCASD’s participation in the SPPA now confirmed, school board and SPPA working group member Peter Buck expects the remaining nine entities — College, Ferguson and Patton townships, State College Borough, the Centre Region Council of Governments, State College Borough Water Authority, College Township Water Authority, Centre County Government and the Centre Hall Potter Joint Authority — to have their contracts signed by early 2025.

“The hope is that once SCASD signs, we’ll have the rest of the entities on board by the turn of the new year, or soon after,” Buck told the CDT. “We know that this time of year the other entities in the working group are pretty occupied at their meetings, so they can take their time with the final SPPA contract documents. It won’t change any of the project’s anticipated start-up dates.”

SCASD has always been a linchpin in the SPPA, Adams has said. While five other entities have dropped out — Halfmoon and Harris townships, CATA, the Centre County Housing Authority and the Centre County Refuse and Recycling Authority — the project was never in danger due to the small percentage of energy they’d signed up to receive.

But had SCASD dropped out, the entire project would have been in jeopardy.

The projected total cost for the school district is $280,902, according to Rosenblum, which is the largest amount among the agreement partners.

Dennis Hameister, a Harris Township supervisor, said at the SPPA working group meeting on Nov. 13 that his township remains interested in re-joining the SPPA. Buck said during that meeting that the township can still opt into re-joining the agreement as long as the the final contracts of the remaining entities have not been signed.

The final contract documents were originally supposed to be handed out to the participating entities and signed last spring. But after encountering $123,334 in additional legals fees over the agreed upon $160,000 limit, the distribution and potential signing of the documents was delayed while municipalities took action on the legal fees.

Once the contract work is finished, construction on the solar array will start in Walker Township. Construction is expected to be completed in October 2026, with cost savings expected to begin the following year.

More information on the SPPA and its working group can be found at COG’s website.

The State College Area school board typically meets at 7 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month in the Panorama Village Administration Building.