These 25 Philly-area schools are getting state-paid solar panels, and taxpayers could benefit
The awards are the first fruits of the Solar for Schools legislation, sponsored by State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler of Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania officials have green-lit 25 solar-panel grants for schools in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, and Delaware Counties — approving $22.6 million in state money for green energy projects that lawmakers and educational leaders hope will help stretch tight educational budgets.
The awards are the first fruits of the Solar for Schools program, the brainchild of State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D., Philadelphia), who introduced and championed the law that passed in 2024.
Officials allocated $25 million for the first round of Solar for Schools and ultimately awarded 74 grants to go toward panel purchase and installation aimed at keeping districts’ utility costs down.
The demand is keen and the application process was competitive, Fiedler said, with asks for 88 separate projects worth about $88 million, more than three times the first-year allocation. The proposed projects were in rural, suburban, and urban districts and range from solar arrays on large open swaths of land to compact panels on city school roofs.
“It felt like evidence that this sort of program has broad appeal, even in a super politically polarized world about green energy and energy in general,” said Fiedler, chair of the House Energy Committee.
The Commonwealth Financing Authority approved the projects unanimously last week.
‘A cool and useful idea’
Solar for Schools can save districts millions that can be invested back into classrooms, said Fiedler, who spent more than a year researching solar energy, climbing onto school roofs, and educating herself about the economics and technical points of solar panels.
Some districts already have gone the solar route — one, the Steelton-Highspire district in Dauphin County, offsets 100% of its annual energy consumption with solar panels. It’s a tiny district with only two schools, but projects savings of up to $1.6 million over 20 years because of its shift to solar.
Solar for Schools had broad bipartisan support and the backing of groups that don’t always see eye to eye: the building trades, environmental groups, education advocates.
Awarding the first grants “feels like a milestone,” Fiedler said. “This is a very cool and useful idea for schools — a way for them to save money and generate their own electricity.”
The grants, which were open to districts, community colleges, and career and technical schools, can cover up to 50% of the cost of solar panels; some federal money has been available to cover more of the cost.
Solar for Schools does not figure to be a one-time deal, either; Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed an additional $25 million for the program in the fiscal 2026 budget.
Who’s getting the funds?
The grants have been awarded to the following schools:
Bristol Township, Armstrong Middle School, $400,000
Octorara Area School District, $300,000
Owen J. Roberts School District, East Coventry, $300,000
Owen J. Roberts School District, East Vincent, $300,000
Owen J. Roberts School District, North Coventry, $264,552
Phoenixville Area School District, Manavon Elementary, $300,000
Phoenixville Area School District, Schuylkill Elementary, $300,000
Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, Unionville High School, $299,580
West Chester Area School District, East Bradford Elementary School, $167,514
Haverford Township School District, Chatham Park Elementary, $296,976
Rose Tree Media School District, $229,833
Upper Darby School District, Bywood Elementary, $323,213
Upper Darby School District, Primos Elementary, $334,913
Upper Darby School District, Hillcrest Elementary, $446,713
Upper Darby School District, Stonehurst Hills Elementary, $359,288
Upper Darby School District, Drexel Hill Middle School, $500,000
Upper Darby School District, Westbrook Park Elementary, $431,600
William Penn School District, Park Lane Elementary, $500,000
Philadelphia
Community College of Philadelphia, CCP Main Campus, $329,323
Community College of Philadelphia, CCP Northeast Regional Center, $176,695
Philadelphia School District, W.B. Saul High School, $500,000
Philadelphia School District, Northeast Community Propel Academy, $500,000
Philadelphia School District, Andrew Hamilton Elementary, $52,722
Philadelphia School District, Dobbins High School, $220,412
Universal Audenried Charter High School, $500,000