New Pennsylvania Solar Projects

The Pennsylvania solar industry is on a roll this year. This summer, the Pennsylvania Sunshine solar rebate program went live, offering home and business owners substantial cash rebates to make solar installations more affordable. And Governor Rendell has not only been vocal in his support for clean energy like solar power, but has been putting state money where his mouth is. Just recently, the state announced its solar capacity had doubled as a result of the rebate program (see Adam’s post from earlier this month).

In his latest hard commitment to the cause, Rendell’s office announced that more than $23 million has been approved this week for clean energy projects, more solar installations among them.

• Pittsburgh’s Chatham University received over $113,000 for two solar thermal projects to be completed with new technology from Solar Tomorrow
• Also in Pittsburgh, the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens will receive a $2 million loan to fund a number of clean energy projects, including a photovoltaics installation, for its under-construction LEED platinum research and admin building
• A waste treatment facility in Warrington Township will receive over $275,000 in grant money towards a $1.2 million solar panel array
• Uwchlan Township will also receive grant money for a smaller solar installation, $85,000 towards a project total of about $386,000
• SunEdison will receive a $5 million loan towards a 14.5 acre, $19.9 million solar PV system in Carlisle; SunEdison is also receiving a “2.55 million solar energy program loan for a $6.1 million project to build a rooftop solar photovoltaic system on a commercial property in Fort Washington”
• In the same neighborhood, the Carlisle  Area School District “will receive a $950,000 solar energy program grant toward a solar photovoltaic system, which will produce about 15 percent of its annual power need.”
• And more! Really, lots more–Johnson & Johnson, Illuminex Corp, Lehigh Valley Hospital, IQE Solar LLC, and Borrego Solar are among other recipients of Pennsylvania clean energy funds.

It’s very exciting to see the rapid development and expansion of a solar market than just a year ago was fairly bleak, despite close proximity to booming East Coast markets like New Jersey and New York. And the expansion seems solid, with no tremors on the horizon about lack of real funding or interest. On the contrary, with Rendell making solar power and other clean energy projects a priority, it seems like Pennsylvania will continue to grow and attract new solar business. With Virginia’s new solar rebate in place, too, perhaps the mid-Atlantic region will finally start showing up on solar maps.