On July 17, the nonprofit Pennsylvania Solar Center announced that its PA SolarCorps Program discovered more than $74 million in potential energy savings over 25 years in Beaver County Justice40 communities if they were to go solar.

These communities include Ambridge, Aliquippa, Beaver Falls, Freedom, Midland, Monaca, and New Brighton.

This translates to about $3 million in potential annual savings for 129 businesses, nonprofits, and other kinds of organizations located throughout these communities.

In August 2023, the Pennsylvania Solar Center joined regional nonprofits RiverWise and New Sun Rising in forming a partnership called “Rural Innovation through Solar Empowerment” (RISE), which received $100,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to help Beaver County organizations in Justice40 communities go solar.

Click Here to view application video.

Justice40 communities are communities that have over the years been marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution, and to which the federal government has pledged to direct 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments. 

The PA GET Solar Program is already helping some Beaver County organizations go solar, including the Borough of Ambridge, New Brighton School District, and Neighborhood North Museum of Play.

Through the guidance of GET Solar and The RISE Project, these organizations each recently received hundreds of thousands from the DEP Shell Penalty Mitigation Fund, including $135,375 for the Borough of Ambridge, $538,000 for New Brighton School District, and $145,240 for Neighborhood North: Museum of Play.

“RiverWise is committed to ensuring that Beaver County’s Justice40 communities are benefitting from federal investments in the new energy economy, and we’re thrilled with The RISE Project’s progress so far,” said Daniel Rossi-Keen, Executive Director at RiverWise, the team lead for the collaboration. “The RISE Project is serving as an incubator and pilot for expanding solar adoption in rural communities and developing a replicable process that we can spread across the state and the nation.”

“The Pennsylvania Solar Center is honored to have been chosen along with our partners to help Beaver County businesses and nonprofits navigate the path to going solar,” said Sharon Pillar, Founder and Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Solar Center. “There has never been a better time in our history to go solar, with the expansion and extension of the solar tax credit to at least 40 percent until 2032, as well as accelerated depreciation, USDA REAP grants, and savings from the solar power itself. Many clients from our GET Solar technical assistance program realize significant savings almost immediately. We greatly look forward to helping Beaver County’s Justice40 communities unlock the power of solar.”

“At New Sun Rising we pride ourselves on our longstanding dedication to community-driven change that promotes environmental justice and sustainable community development,” said Scott Wolovich, Executive Director of New Sun Rising. “We’re thrilled and grateful to have the opportunity to support Beaver County’s transition into the clean energy economy, create good-paying jobs, and lower energy prices for all energy consumers.”

Solar Feasibility Study Help

Any Beaver County nonprofit, business, municipality, or school can receive a solar feasibility study to learn about their solar potential and the estimated savings that it would produce by going to the GET Solar webpage and filling out the intake form.

The Pennsylvania Solar Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit effort to raise the awareness of the benefits of solar energy in Pennsylvania. Click Here to sign up for regular updates.

Related Articles:

-- PA Officials, Business Leaders Tout Job Growth, $4.7 Billion In Clean Energy Investments In Pennsylvania  [PaEN]

-- PA Solar Center: $74 Million In Potential Energy Savings Over 25 Years Found In Beaver County If 7 Communities Go Solar  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Aug. 20 Online Solar Law Symposium  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Centre Daily Times: Plans For 1,000 Acre Ampliform/Project14 Solar Energy Project On Abandoned Mine Lands In Rush Twp., Centre County Move Forward, Questions And Concerns Remain

-- Evangelical Environmental Network Celebrates Passage Of Solar For Schools Legislation In PA

-- RiverReporter.com: Federal Representatives Tour Lukan’s Farm Resort Rural Solar Project In Wayne County

-- Citizens Voice: Overwhelming Crowd Size At Solar Energy Facility Meeting Postpones Lehman Twp. Public Hearing

-- Clean Air Council: PA Supreme Court Grants Intervention To Environmental Groups In Challenge To Carbon Pollution Reduction Program For Power Plants [RGGI]

[Posted: July 18, 2024]

7/22/2024