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HAYFIELD TOWNSHIP — PENNCREST School Board is considering a proposal to lease some of its property to allow for the construction of solar panels, with the goal of saving money on the district’s energy bills.
At their work session on Monday, board members heard the proposal from Eric Petrazio, account executive for McClure Company. The school district already is working with McClure for renovations at its school buildings under the Guaranteed Energy Savings Act (GESA).
Petrazio said PENNCREST would lease land to McClure for a 30-year term. The company then would construct the solar panels on the leased land at no cost to the school district. Then, for the 30-year term, the company would sell the power it generates from the panels to the district at an agreed upon rate.
“Like I said, there is no up-front cost,” he said. “We don’t charge you for any of this upfront engineering ... and it doesn’t cost anything to install it.”
Petrazio noted that the panels are not directly feeding to the school district’s power systems. Instead, the power generated is going into the electrical grid, generating Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) which would take money off the school district’s power bill.
McClure is proposing to build enough panels to cover 100 percent of PENNCREST’s power consumption, with some extra to anticipate for degradation of the equipment. In effect, this means the school district would only be paying McClure for power, as the SRECs would entirely pay for power pulled from the power grid.
The fixed rate the school district pays for the panels depends upon the set of solar panels. For example, electricity from panels built at Maplewood Elementary School under the proposal would cost $17,092 in the first year and $22,888 in the last year.
However, Petrazio said the savings from paying for the electricity through this method would be significant. Those same Maplewood Elementary School panels, over the course of the 30 year term, would generate cumulative savings of $306,755, assuming a 3 percent increase in electrical rates from the energy grid.
Panels built at the Saegertown campus would save the school district $909,162 over the 30-year term, while those at Maplewood High School would generate savings of $426,881.
Petrazio did not include a proposal for panels at Cambridge Springs in his presentation Monday, but said that would be a possibility in the future.
PENNCREST would also have the option to purchase the solar panels from McClure after five years at market value. This might occur, Petrazio said, if regulations changed to allow the school district itself to sell the power it generates.
However, Petrazio said McClure has done this kind of solar lease agreement with other school districts, and so far none have opted to buy the panels.
If the school district purchased the panels, it would have to handle their maintenance, whereas McClure would be in charge of maintenance otherwise and perform it at the company’s expense.
In addition to the power benefits, McClure would install an educational kiosk at the panels, allowing them to be used for classroom purposes.
Board member Brian Lynch expressed some concern about how local weather would hamper the panels.
“Well, the problem is that when it’s going to generate the maximum amount of electricity is going to be in the summer when we’re not using the electricity,” Lynch said.
However, Petrazio said McClure has taken that into account with the proposal, with the amount of space used sized to exactly meet the energy consumption of the school district. Further, SRECs can be generated in one season and used later in the year.
He also clarified that the panels are angled and become heated by operation to ensure snow doesn’t cover them in the winter.
Superintendent Timothy Glasspool showed support for the idea, seeing no disadvantageous aspects to the proposal outside of having solar panels on school property, which Petrazio said would be surrounded by a security fence to keep them hidden.
“We’re looking to make improvements to our financial positions furthest from the classroom,” Glasspool said. “How much further from the classroom can you get than outside in a field?”
Board President Luigi DeFrancesco showed some hesitancy to the plan, wanting to review it fully first and have it looked over by the board’s facilities and transportation committee before committing.
Glasspool, speaking to The Meadville Tribune after the meeting, said the school district would have the proposal examined, including by the board’s solicitor, and likely would not vote on it until at least next month.
McClure is looking for the board to put forth a letter of engagement, after which it will return with a power purchase agreement. Once approved, the company will move forward and look to install the panels in the spring and summer of 2023.
The proposal is available through the board’s online agenda. While the presentation shows where McClure might place the panels, Petrazio said the location is adjustable at the board’s request.
PENNCREST School Board next meets today at 7 p.m. at the school district’s central office on the Saegertown campus.
Sean P. Ray can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at sray@meadvilletribune.com .
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