BELLEFONTE — The county recently approved a guaranteed energy savings program that will save on energy costs and update old facilities. Part of the original plan was for a solar panel array at the Centre County Correction Facility, but the solar panels did not make the cut because they were not as cost-effective as was originally thought after the county changed its energy provider.
Now, the county is going to look for new bids on solar panels, hoping to make solar a cost-effective energy source for the prison.
“What had happened during the original contract negations is the county revised our electric contract, so we were able to reduce our rates. When that happened, the solar system, as specified, was not as cost-effective as we hoped it would be,” said Bob Jacobs, Centre County planning director.
The county is asking for companies to develop a 1.7-megawatt solar panel system on 6 acres at the county prison that would provide all the electricity needs of the facility. The array at the University Area Joint Authority and the one being developed at the Mount Nittany Medical Center are of similar size, Jacobs said.
“I am pleased to see us moving forward with this. Solar, at this point, is what is called grid parity, so it costs exactly the same to produce a megawatt of electricity with solar than it does with fossil fuels. Obviously with solar, you are fixing your costs. Who knows what coal, oil, natural gas are going to cost 10 years from now, but we are going to know to the penny what that solar array will cost us 10 years from now,” said county commissioner Mark Higgins.
Higgins said solar panels will also provide an added benefit of energy security, so the prison won’t have to rely solely on a generator if there is a power outage. He also sees the solar panels as a potential sign that Centre County is a leader in forward thinking.
“I am hoping that this can be seen from I-99 as people drive by. Kind of a statement that Centre County government is concerned for the environment, concerned for its citizens and fixing and possibly even decreasing our energy costs,” said Higgins.
Jacobs said the plan would be to place the solar array on the east side of the facility, which would be visible from I-99, and allow for expansion of the facility in the future if needed.
The county plans to advertise the project soon and look for bids on the project early next year. The bid would then be reviewed before the commissioners would decide to go through with the project.
