Governor Rendell: New Solar Energy Investments to Help Businesses, Municipalities Conserve Energy, Cut Expenses

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania is strengthening its position as a leader in solar energy with new investments of more than $5 million in 13 new projects, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.

"We have made remarkable progress in making Pennsylvania a leader in renewable energy in a very short period of time," said Governor Rendell. "We've invested nearly $1 billion in projects that put more than 8,300 people to work. And now, with the federal Recovery funds President Obama and Congress wisely dedicated to the renewable sector, we're able to achieve even more growth."

The projects announced today, which will generate enough electricity to power approximately 500 homes, are benefitting from the $650 million Alternative Energy Investment Fund that Governor Rendell signed in 2008. They were approved for funding by the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

These critical investments, the Governor noted, make sense for Pennsylvania's future for a number of economic and environmental reasons.

"We are making tremendous strides in bringing more solar capacity on line," said Governor Rendell. "By December 2010, Pennsylvania will rank in the top five states for solar in terms of megawatts operating. With the programs that we have in place today and the funds made available to us through the federal stimulus, this will bring our total solar capacity to nearly 60 megawatts or enough to power 7,200 homes.  

"Some of the projects I'm announcing today will reduce the annual energy consumption of their owners by as much as half," Governor Rendell said. "Pennsylvania's commitment to creating a vibrant solar industry will reduce the consumption of costly, traditional fuels, with clean, efficient sunlight that doesn't cost a penny. That provides savings to businesses and municipalities, and ensures that the commonwealth remains a leader in the development and deployment of green technologies."  

For more information on programs available through the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit www.newpa.com or call 1-866-466-3972.

Media contacts:

Theresa Elliott, DCED; 717-783-1132

Michael Smith, Governor's Office; 717-783-1116

Editor's Note: The following is a list, by county, of the 13 projects receiving alternative energy investment grants.  To put each project's generation capacity into context, an average home in Pennsylvania uses approximately 10 megawatt hours, or 10,000 kilowatt hours, of electricity annually.     

Allegheny County

Terradime - 5637 Forbes LLC will receive a $44,000 solar energy program grant to install a 25 kW rooftop solar photovoltaic power system that will be installed on a condominium building located in Pittsburgh. The system will produce nearly 28,500 kWh, each year. Terradime, a Pittsburgh-based real estate and research enterprise focused on sustainable development and energy efficient innovations, plans to erect a four-story, 14-unit green condominium building that will include 21 subsurface vehicular parking spaces with electric car hook-ups. The total project cost is $181,500.  

Bucks County

VS Solar LP will receive a $1 million solar energy program grant for the installation of a rooftop solar photovoltaic system for the Valley Square Lifestyle Shopping Center located in Warrington Township. Of the 11 buildings that comprise the Lifestyle Center property, nine will be fitted with the photovoltaic rooftop panel systems.  The total system size will be 800 kW and will cover 90 percent of the annual shopping center common area's electric requirement, which is presently 1,131,000 kWh. The total project cost is $4.1 million.

Centre County

SEC BESD Solar One LLC will receive a $995,440 solar energy program grant to purchase and install a 541 kW rooftop solar photovoltaic system for the Bald Eagle Middle/High School in Boggs Township. SEC BESD Solar One LLC is the special purpose LLC formed by Smart Energy Capital for the Bald Eagle School District solar projects; it will own the photovoltaic system and sell power to the Bald Eagle schools under a long-term power purchase agreement at a fixed rate of 4.9 cents per kWh for 25 years. The solar PV system will produce about 670,000 kWh of solar electricity annually, which will provide more than 50 percent of the Bald Eagle Middle/High School electricity demand. The total project cost is $2.7 million.  

SEC BESD Solar One LLC will receive a $445,280 solar energy program grant for the purchase and installation of a 242 kW solar photovoltaic system for the Bald Eagle/Wingate Elementary School located in Boggs Township. SEC BESD Solar One LLC will own the photovoltaic system and sell power to the Bald Eagle schools under a long-term power purchase agreement at a fixed rate of 4.9 cents per kWh for 25 years. The solar PV system will produce about 299,000 kWh of solar electricity annually, which will provide more than 50 percent of the Wingate Elementary School electricity demand. The total project cost is $1.2 million.

Chester County

Integrys Energy Services will receive a $500,000 solar energy program grant to install a 387 kW solar photovoltaic system on 50,000 square feet of land owned by Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square. All of the power generated will be consumed by the Longwood Garden facilities through a power purchase agreement. The project will generate approximately 473,550 kWh per year, and offset between 14 percent and 22 percent of Longwood Gardens' peak load. The total project cost is $1.7 million.

West Chester Borough will receive $123,941 solar energy program grant to construct a solar photovoltaic system on the roof of a proposed parking garage in West Chester. The borough plans to demolish an existing parking garage and replace it with a larger structure containing 689 parking spaces, an increase of more than 400. The design includes a 68 kW photovoltaic system in a roof top canopy that will produce more than 77,000 kWh each year. The energy use of the garage is primarily for lighting, which will be high efficiency LED. The borough intends to make the solar energy project a visible addition to the community with on-line access to energy production data, educational links between this project and school curriculum, and dissemination of the technology and benefits. The total project cost is $508,941.  

Cumberland County

Allen Distribution LP will receive a $580,000 solar energy program grant to install a solar photovoltaic system for the roof of its distribution facility in Carlisle.  The company plans to install a 400 kW solar photovoltaic system to offset the facility's energy consumption and it will generate approximately 418,691 kWh in its first year of operation. The total project cost is $2.1 million.  

Dauphin County

UGI Development Co. will receive a $125,000 solar energy program grant to install a 500 kW solar photovoltaic system on 7 acres of land at its propane storage facility in Swatara Township. The project will offset the total average annual energy usage of the facility and will generate approximately 438,000 kWh per year. The total project cost is $2.8 million.  

Lawrence County

Axion Power Manufacturing Inc. will receive a $298,605 solar energy program grant to assist with solar power energy storage research and development at its facility in Neshannock Township.  The company is seeking to develop a renewable energy storage system that will store excess electricity generated from two Envision Solar electric vehicle charging stations.  Potential uses of this technology include increasing the value of power generation from renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic and wind turbine systems, by storing energy gained during energy generation periods (sunny or windy) and later utilizing the stored energy.  The total project cost is $1 million.

Lycoming County

The Montoursville Area School District will receive a $35,000 solar energy program grant to install a photovoltaic array roof panel system at the C.E. McCall Middle School in Montoursville. The school district is extensively renovating the middle school and the renovations will include the construction and installation of a 20 kW photovoltaic array roof panel system that will generate approximately 22,000 kWh of electricity annually. The electricity generated will assist the district with the middle school's energy needs, specifically the school's library, which will be located directly beneath the solar roof system. Total project cost is $90,960.    

Northampton County

Positive Energy Pennsylvania 1 LLC will receive $58,590 solar energy program grant to install a 30.8 kW rooftop solar photovoltaic system at the Williams Township Public Works building. The photovoltaic system will occupy 2,240 square feet of rooftop space, and the system is estimated to provide 35,600 kWh of energy over the course of a year.  Positive Energy will own the system and sell power to Williams Township under a power purchase agreement at a rate of $0.09/kWh for 20 years. The total project cost is $169,943.  

Philadelphia County

Orion Energy Systems Inc. will receive $436,800 solar energy program grant to install a 240kW rooftop solar photovoltaic system on the PreFlight Airport Parking facility located at the Philadelphia International Airport. The system will cover approximately 35,000 square feet of roof space and produce 273,000 kWh a year. PreFlight Airport Parking is a private off-airport parking provider. It will purchase the electricity generated by this system from Orion Energy Systems at below market rates. The total project cost is $1.2 million.  

Schuylkill County

Sterman Masser Inc. will receive a $1 million solar energy program grant to purchase and install a 1 megawatt solar photovoltaic array on 6-acres in Hubley Township. The system will generate more than 1.1 million kWh hours of electricity annually.  The electricity generated from the system will be utilized at the company's potato processing plant, located 0.5 miles from the solar array site.   The total project cost is $5.4 million.  

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor