OASD Solar Exploration - A 3.49 Megawatt Array

The Octorara team is committed to operating with efficiency and high standards, and we are always searching for new ways to strengthen and improve our school district while being fiscally responsible. On Monday, September 16, our School Board was presented with a proposal that we believe will address both of these goals. We have been exploring what potential there might be for Octorara in solar energy since late fall of 2023.

In the presentation, our financial advisors from Raymond James, representatives from the McClure Company and administrative team presented information to the Board about a plan to potentially transition our district’s energy source to solar power. This solar array would be owned and operated by our school district, for sole use by our district, and would be based on a grouping of solar panels that could be installed on district land behind Octorara Intermediate School.

Please see the links below to learn more.

Questions Generated By The Community

Here is a sample of the questions we have collected from township meetings (zoning hearings, supervisors), email, school board meetings and a community information session.

Proposed 3.49 mW Solar Array - Octorara Area School District

Solar Questions collected from community - September 2024

Overview: The Octorara Area School District is exploring the option to install a ground mounted solar array on the District’s campus. The solar array would offset the electrical demand for the District, stabilize electrical costs into the future, and provide educational opportunities for our students.

Based on the public interest and involvement in the project, the District has compiled questions from the various School Board Meetings, Facility Meetings, and Township meetings and has prepared the following FAQ for the project.  If you have additional questions please email the District at jhardy@octorara.org.

Q: Why does the district want to move to solar?

A: The district is interested in the possibility of cost savings over the life of a solar array project and for the educational benefits for our students. Our conservative estimates for savings to the district are in excess of $21 million dollars. The conservative nature of our projections have been confirmed by our finance team at Raymond James Financial, Inc., the energy service partner, McClure Company, who guarantees the stated energy production. Representatives from the Department of Treasury recently reviewed the financial forecast prepared by Raymond James and indicated that the values we are using were very conservative and that our realized savings could be much higher. The educational benefits come from our students learning about the production of energy and the use of real time data to track and predict outcomes with the system, to learn about sustainability energy development, and from the integration of agriculture with the array.

Q: How Affordable is the system?

A: The proposed system will cost an estimated $8.6 million. The federal government is providing incentives for school districts to move to solar energy, however, including rebates under the Inflation Reduction Act that will reimburse Octorara more than  $2 million after the system is operational. There are also rebates from the power company valued at more than $400,000. The state legislature has also recently passed a Solar for Schools program that will also provide a financial incentive for Octorara (though that amount has not yet been set.)

Q: How much is in the Capital Reserve fund at Octorara?  

A:  Today, $3.7 million is in our Capital Reserve Account. We would take $2 million of this to fund that solar array, and would return $2 million from Federal credits in the first year of operation. 

Q: This proposal claims to be very advantageous to the district. If it is so good, why have other districts not taken the same opportunity?

A: Octorara has some conditions that might be unique to our setting that make the possibility of a switch to solar more appealing than some other districts. 

  • All of the District’s buildings fall within a two mile radius. Based on the proximity of the District’s property we are able to use the utility’s net metering regulations and combine the utility bills into one “virtual” meter and have one array for the entire District. For larger districts where their schools are spread across their area, exceeding the two mile criteria, their schools would not meet this requirement and would require multiple solar projects (increased costs).

  •  Many school districts do not have the land necessary to build a solar array on their property. Some districts can utilize rooftops or parking lots. Octorara is unique in that our available land is on the same plot as all of our campuses.

  • In the past year, the state passed legislation that made the installation of solar arrays more financially viable for school districts.. Federal funding is now available through the Inflation Reduction Act (ICA).

  • Because Octorara has managed its financial resources very responsibly, we are in  the unique financial position to be able to allocate $2 million dollars for the project, a cost which is recovered in the first year of operation. Some districts do not have that financial capacity. 

Q: I’m curious to know if the savings from this switch will be invested into bettering and adding additional school programs. What are the plans?

A: At Octorara we continue to put programs in place to support students and empowering them to build successful futures. In the early years of our conversion to solar (the first 7 years), the majority of our savings will be dedicated to paying for the solar system. We project about $385,000 annually in those first 7 years that will be added to the bottom line of our budget.

The bettering of and additions to our programs come from our general budget and is our highest priority. Those programs will always be funded first and most completely. So, in other words, programs are first in line. In this example, the $385,000 goes to the bottom line to support the many other things that are needed to support students and learning and helps to ensure that we have the funds available to make learning and programs our highest priority.

Q: How will students be involved in the solar project?

A: Students will not be involved in the construction of the solar array. After completion of the array, students would benefit from a kiosk located in the schools and a data portal  that tracks the generation and operational data from the array and solar production. Students in math and science have access to real time data on energy production and can study the impact of weather on energy production and the decay of solar production. FFA students will be able to house sheep on the footprint of the array and use the land for agricultural purposes. 

Q: Why does the district want to move to solar?

A: The district is interested in the possibility of cost savings over the life of a solar array project and for the educational benefits for our students. Our conservative estimates for savings to the district are in excess of $21 million dollars. The conservative nature of our projections have been confirmed by our finance team at Raymond James Financial, Inc., the energy service partner who guarantees the stated energy production, and most recently by the US Department of Treasury. Representatives from the Department of Treasury recently reviewed the financial forecast prepared by Raymond James and  indicated that the values we are using were very conservative and that our realized savings could be much higher. The educational benefits come from our students learning about the production of energy and the use of real time data to track and predict outcomes with the system, to learn about sustainability energy development, and the integration of agriculture with the array.

Q: How Affordable is the system?

A: The proposed system is not inexpensive, an estimated $8.6 million. There are incentives for Octorara to move to solar though. Schools consume 11% of all energy produced in Pennsylvania. The more schools the government can convince to install solar, the less the energy grid is stressed. There are currently rebates under the Inflation Reduction Act that will reimburse the Octorara over $2 million after the system is operational. There are also rebates from the power company valued at over $400,000. The state legislature has also recently passed a Solar for Schools program that will also provide a financial incentive for Octorara. The amount of the grant from the state has not yet been set.

Q: Won’t this be covering up farmland?

A: The solar array will cover about 10 acres. The array is a fixed title, ground mounted system, that is installed using piles driven into the ground to support the solar panels.  The estimated coverage within the array would be limited to the piles and any equipment pads to support the electrical gear.  While we have not started the engineering and design of the solar array, the typical “coverage” for a project of this size is about a quarter acre.  The remaining area within the protective fence line will be planted using an approved pollinator seed mix that includes Pennsylvania native grasses and wildflowers. This vegetative cover grows about as high as the bottom of the solar panel and could be maintained by mowing or by a flock of sheep.

Q: How reliable is solar power?

A: The reliability of solar energy generation through a solar array depends on several factors. However, overall,solar arrays are considered to be a highly reliable source of energy with low maintenance needs and predictable output under the right conditions. Here’s a breakdown of what affects the reliability of solar energy generation:

  • Sunlight Availability: Solar energy production is directly related to sunlight, so geographic location and weather patterns are critical. Areas with high sunshine hours (like the southwestern U.S.) see more consistent energy generation, while regions with frequent cloud cover may experience variability. Our proposed solar array was designed using data from local weather stations to calibrate solar energy production to our location.

  • Seasonal Variation: Solar production is higher in the summer due to longer days and more direct sunlight, and lower in the winter. Our system was designed to account for the seasonal variation by using an annual average production curve to over-produce electricity during the summer months.

Q: What guarantees are there for energy production?

A: The current proposal from the energy services partner we have been working with, the McClure Company, guarantees the energy cost savings for the district. How can they do this? Based on local weather patterns and the performance of the sola