Fiedler was on hand to tour the district and promote House Bill 1032, of which she is the prime sponsor.

The bill, known as the Solar for Schools legislation, passed the state House with bipartisan support in June and could save school districts between 30% to 50% on future solar projects through grants if it passes out of the Senate and is signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Energy for powering schools is one of the highest costs for school districts in Pennsylvania, Fiedler said, noting her legislation is a tool for school districts to save money on their bills.

Central Cambria school officials are looking for ways to save the district money and, while not on any upcoming board meeting agendas, solar power is among the options considered.

Eighth-grade student Giles Westrick said he thinks solar energy is “very important to the future of our society.” State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler asked Central Cambria students what they like about their school district, with many students noting they love their teachers and extracurricular activities. Fiedler said the Solar for Schools legislation would help school districts save money that could be used “however it makes the most sense,” such as adding more support staff or extracurricular programs. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

Superintendent Jason Moore said the district’s electric bill is about $540,000 of the district’s $27 million annual budget.

Those costs have never gone down, he said, adding it’s a “win-win for everybody” if the district can find a way to save money and put more resources in front of the students.

In addition to a large amount of tax revenue the district lost after a commercial reassessment, Moore said cyber charter tuition costs also drain the district’s budget. He said the district’s cost of cyber charter tuition has increased nearly $500,000 since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moore said doing a solar project at Central Cambria would be beneficial to the district’s students who are going into the STEM field.

“Having solar arrays here on campus would be a real-life learning laboratory for them, and that would also benefit the students at Admiral Peary Vo-Tech,” he said.

Superintendent Jason Moore (right) talks with state leaders about the Central Cambria School District as Legislative Director Steve Petro looks on during a tour of the district’s campus Wednesday. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

Doug Neidich, the CEO of GreenWorks Development, said Central Cambria is an “ideal candidate” for a solar project since the district has 70 acres of land and has newer roofs on its Cambria Elementary and High School buildings.

“You’ve done a nice job in terms of trying to reduce your energy costs as much as you can,” Neidich said to school officials.

Steve Petro, Fiedler’s legislative director, said about 100 out of 6,500 school districts in Pennsylvania have undergone solar projects between 2009-14 through power purchasing agreements, in which developers install solar energy systems at little to no upfront cost to the districts.

Petro said the developers are able to lock-in guaranteed rates that are often lower than a district’s utility costs, but since they own the system, the savings are generally more modest, he said.

Despite financing challenges, Petro believes more districts are going to opt to have direct ownership of their solar panels and projects within the next decade.

Neidich said GreenWorks Development provides a power service agreement option for districts to lease their solar panels for a period of five years before they purchase and own the panels themselves, which he said saves them a lot of upfront costs.

Moore said Central Cambria doesn’t have the financial resources currently to do an out-of-pocket project, but added the district needs “to make sure we’re getting at the front of that line to make sure this is going to happen for us.”

“We’d have to look at something innovative,” he said. “But, obviously, we have to look at cost savings, and this seems to be a no-brainer, especially if (Representative) Fiedler’s legislation goes through.”

Board member Chuck Gironda said he attended Fiedler’s presentation because “every day is a budget day” for school board members.

“I’m very much interested in the possibilities that may come from this,” he said of the Solar for Schools legislation.

Also taking part in the tour were a group of students, who told Fiedler about the district.

Asked what they like about their district, students said sports and STEM opportunities, as well as the “teachers and people who help you out.”

Fiedler said using solar power would enable districts to spend the savings on programs to improve learning opportunities for students.

Giles Westrick, an eighth-grade student, said solar energy is “very important to the future of our society.”