Credit: EnergyLink
Hailed as a win for clean energy, Pennsylvania’s Solar for Schools Grant Program is helping schools go green–yet looming federal cuts threaten to dim the promise for others.
Two weeks ago, Pennsylvania’s Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) announced that more than $22.6 million will be invested in 74 schools statewide to cover the costs of solar panel installations. The state has awarded grants to 25 Philly-area schools and community colleges.
The Solar for Schools Grant Program (S4S), introduced as a bill by state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), was signed into law in 2024. The legislation builds on Governor Josh Shapiro’s goals to generate more clean, affordable energy. Shapiro’s 2024-2025 enacted budget allocated $25 million for S4S grants.
“Energy is one of the top expenses for schools, which is why investments in solar energy can help to maintain long-term financial stability and improve the quality of education they offer students,” said DCED Secretary Rick Siger in a release. “Those savings can then be channeled into more resources for our teachers and students, and also create good-paying clean-energy jobs and job training opportunities.”
Chatham Park Elementary, part of Haverford Township School District, is a S4S success story. The school received a $296,976 S4S grant. In a statement to Philly Daily, a representative shared that the technical potential of the roof-mounted solar panels will offset about 100% of the school’s projected annual electric usage in the first year of operation.
But financial savings are not the only positive outcome of these grants. Josh Anderson, Principal of Universal Audenried Charter High School, shared how the school’s solar panels will be a valuable learning opportunity for students.
“My goal is to get the solar panels on the roof, and to use it to build a curriculum in the engineering program so that young people can be exposed to the possibility of entering the workforce as solar technicians,” said Anderson.
With their $500,000 S4S grant, Anderson hopes to install two solar panel arrays: a main one connected to the grid that generates the bulk of the school’s electricity, and then a smaller array on a different part of the roof that would be accessible to students. Engineering students could then climb onto the roof to see how the panels are mounted and learn how to correctly wire them into buildings.
To Anderson, the grant is game-changing for the low-income students his school serves. “It provides us with a way to expose young people to hands-on experiences that most inner city, South Philly kids would not be exposed to.”
However, not all schools are getting such a happy ending.
Upper Darby School District, a Delaware County public school system with approximately 12,000 students, received a little more than $2 million in grants for six of its schools. While this funding is a massive help, the solar panel installation project would require over $9 million.
Superintendent Dr. Daniel McGarry noted that in addition to the district’s contributions, Upper Darby had planned for the remaining portion of funding to come from the federal government. They had applied for clean energy grants related to the Biden Administration’s green initiatives.
Amidst the Trump Administration's plans for steep budget cuts to clean energy projects and to the Department of Education, such federal funding is in jeopardy. This leaves Upper Darby–a district already facing a stressed budget and in need of over $200 million in facility updates–at a standstill.
“We’re not really going to be able to move forward with this work unless those federal dollars come through,” said Dr. McGarry.
This uncertainty leaves the impact of the Solar for Schools Grant Program in flux. Some Pennsylvania schools can embark on their solar panel construction, providing both sustainable outcomes and career prospects. Yet, the opportunity may be out of reach for larger districts with precarious funding.
