25 Philadelphia area schools get first-ever state funding for solar power

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Pennsylvania’s Financing Authority announced that 25 Philly-area schools and community colleges have received grants of up to $500,000 for solar installations, as part of the $22.6 million in state funding distributed across Pennsylvania.

The funding comes from the Solar for Schools Program, originally introduced as a bill by state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Philadelphia, and signed into law in 2024.

“I am so happy for each of these schools and excited to see names from nearly every corner of the state,” Fiedler said in a release about the first-ever grant recipients.

“I’ve heard from rural schools who plan to include their solar panels in agricultural education and from city schools that are thinking strategically about rooftop solar with limited space. I have no doubt that the recipients will benefit from the program’s flexibility to meet their school’s needs and to make the most of their strengths,” she added.

Grants cover up to half the cost of equipment, installation, permit fees, energy storage and utility interconnection, helping to reduce the financial burden of going solar.

A cost-saving shift that keeps paying off

In addition to lowering the cost of going green, the Solar for Schools Program could help the historically underfunded School District of Philadelphia save money.

“The grant program, honestly, is a huge breakthrough,” Liz Robinson, director of the Philadelphia Solar Energy Association, told WHYY News after the legislation was passed last summer. The organization developed a toolkit to help schools go solar. “Our schools need more money, and one huge way to do that is by reducing their energy costs.”

A news release from the PA House Democratic Caucus said the solar installations are expected to save school districts millions of dollars over the lifespan of each project.

One example cited was the Steelton-Highspire School District in Dauphin County, which completed a solar field with 3,900 panels in 2021 that supplied 100% of the district’s electricity by mid-2022. The project is expected to save $3.6 million over 20 years.

“Solar for Schools was designed as a creative way to address the school funding crisis, rising utility costs, and climate change at once,” said the press release.

The program has strong bipartisan support, as well as backing from labor unions, industry experts and environmental advocates.

Demand outpaces funding in first round

The Solar for Schools grant is available to school districts, intermediate units, area career and technical schools, charter schools, including cyber charter schools, schools for the deaf or blind, certain trade and technical schools and community colleges.

In this first round, 88 applications were submitted, with total funding requests exceeding $88 million—more than three times the $25 million available—according to the Department of Community and Economic Development.

74 schools across Pennsylvania were selected. For the upcoming second year of the program, Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed another $25 million appropriation for Solar for Schools in his February budget address.

Here are the 25 schools, school districts and community colleges in greater Philadelphia that received funding:

Bucks County

Armstrong Middle School, $400,000

Chester County

Octorara Area School District, $300,000

East Coventry, $300,000

East Vincent, $300,000

North Coventry, $264,552

Manavon Elementary, $300,000

Schuylkill Elementary, $300,000

Unionville High School, $299,580

East Bradford Elementary School, $167,514

Delaware County

Chatham Park Elementary, $296,976

Rose Tree Media School District, $229,833

Bywood Elementary, $323,213

Primos Elementary, $334,913

Hillcrest Elementary, $446,713

Stonehurst Hills Elementary, $359,288

Drexel Hill Middle School, $500,000

Westbrook Park Elementary, $431,600

Park Lane Elementary, $500,000

Philadelphia

Community College of Philadelphia Main Campus, $329,323

Community College of Philadelphia Northeast Regional Center, $176,695

W.B. Saul High School, $500,000

Northeast Community Propel Academy, $500,000

Andrew Hamilton Elementary School, $52,722

Murrell Dobbins CTE High School, $220,412

Universal Audenried Charter High School, $500,000