An official with the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center said that today they are celebrating more than the switch to solar, they are celebrating "the future of education."
Administrative director at GJCTC John Augustine said this was a three-year journey, first discussing the potential of solar power in spring 2021.
He said they are in a 25-year contract with a company that installed the solar panels beside the school, and that will maintain the solar field.
The cost of the electricity is set throughout the entire contract and the technology center said it will save them significant money each year.
They said it is also beneficial for the taxpayer.
“We're owned by seven school districts so we're affecting the tax base across all of southern Cambria County and parts of Somerset County,” Augustine said. “We take that very seriously at our school and by doing this project through a power purchase agreement we have secure and have known energy costs for the next 25 years.”
There could be school districts following close behind the technology center including Cambria Heights.
Their superintendent Ken Kerchenske said it is likely the district will be signing its own power purchase agreement next month and hopes their high school and middle school will be powered by the sun by next January.
Central Cambria School District superintendent Jason Moore said they are more in the early stages of potentially making the switch but said consultants they have spoken to said the district is an ideal candidate for solar panels because they have plenty of land and a newer roof, and could put the panels in either location.
According to the technology center representatives, there should not be any worries that solar cannot produce enough energy.
Augustine said there can be about 70 welders going at a time, a machine shop, cosmetology classes, and auto mechanics inside GJCTC.
State representative in the 184th district Elizabeth Fiedler is the primary sponsor of House Bill 1032. She said that bill is also looking to help more school be able to switch to solar power.
The bill has passed through the house with bipartisan support according to Fiedler, and now must go through a vote in the senate.
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