One Bucks County school will receive a solar panel grant as part of the state’s Solar for Schools program, writes Kristen A. Graham for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Pennsylvania officials recently approved $22.6 million in state funding for energy projects in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, and Delaware counties. With this additional funding, lawmakers and educational leaders hope this will help to ease pressure on already tight school budgets.
The program is the brainchild of State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, who introduced and advocated for the law adopted last year. Officials allocated $25 million for the first round. They awarded 74 grants to cover panel purchase and installation to reduce utility costs for school districts.
Demand for the grants was strong, with 88 applications from rural, suburban, and urban districts requesting a total of $88 million, over triple the inaugural year’s allocation.
The grant recipient for Bucks is Armstrong Middle School in Bristol, which was awarded $400,000.
“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.
Learn how Solar for Schools is helping Armstrong Middle School and the impact of these grants in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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