On July 17th 2024, the Solar for Schools Act, known as Act 68 of 2024, became effective in Pennsylvania. The Solar for Schools Act creates a framework for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to award grants to certain types of schools to fund solar energy facility installations on their campuses. The Solar for Schools Act itself does not fund the grant program. However, the existence of a grant program could allow for more widespread adoption of solar energy generation on school campuses.

Not every school in the Commonwealth would be eligible to apply for a grant under the Solar for Schools Act. Most of the eligible educational institutions are defined as school entities under the Public School Code of 1949, which includes things like school districts, intermediate units and charter schools. Also eligible for grants are schools for deaf and blind individuals, and community colleges. Member schools of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education are not eligible to apply for grants under the Solar for Schools Act, and neither are state-related institutions like the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University.

Schools eligible for the Solar for Schools Act grant program would be allowed to use the funds for costs related to purchasing and/or installing equipment on an educational building or surrounding land that the school owns, or for “any other costs directly related to a solar energy project.” What these “other costs” are is unclear in the legislation. While decommissioning a solar energy facility at the end of its useful life can be a costly process, and could conceivably fall within the scope of “other costs”, it seems that the Solar for Schools Act is intended to assist in the installation of solar energy facilities at schools, and not fund later costs for decommissioning solar energy facilities.

Another important point from the Solar for Schools Act legislation is the connection between the educational building and the solar energy facility. It is not unusual for school districts to own undeveloped land to potentially use for future school buildings. The text of the Solar for Schools Act makes clear that, for a solar energy facility project to be eligible for a grant, the solar energy facility must be located on the school building or “surrounding premises owned by an eligible applicant.” In other words, school districts cannot attempt to monetize vacant land for solar energy development through grants under the Solar for Schools Act.

Many of the particular deals of the grant program are unclear, being left to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to establish. And, while the Solar for Schools Act creates the framework for a grant program, it does not actually allocate money toward the grant program. So, the Solar for Schools Act grant program, at this early stage, exists only in legislation.

As the Department of Community and Economic Development establishes the mechanics of the grant program, and the grant program is funded, schools will have to navigate the process of analyzing and vetting proposals for sales and installation of solar energy facilities. Schools must not only be careful to abide by the requirements of the Solar for Schools Act and requirements developed by the Department of Community and Economic Development, but schools must also carefully consider the contracts for any purchase and installation of solar energy facilities.