Philly schools have big solar power potential
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Philadelphia schools have untapped potential to cash in on the growing demand for energy production.
Why it matters: Utility bills are typically among the top costs facing schools.
The big picture: Energy costs are surging across Pennsylvania with no end in sight — due in part to the rapid growth of data centers that power artificial intelligence.
Driving the news: Installing solar panels atop Philly's hundreds of school buildings has the potential to save an estimated $20 million over 25 years, per a new report from the nonprofit PennEnvironment.
- But up-front costs for Philly schools would total around $284 million, PennEnvironment deputy director Flora Cardoni tells Axios.
By the numbers: Philly has 430 public, private, charter and parochial school buildings. (The School District of Philadelphia accounts for the bulk of those, at more than 300.)
- The energy generated by potential solar panel systems could power roughly 15,439 homes annually.
Meanwhile, more than two dozen regional schools recently received grants through the state's Solar for Schools Grant Program to install solar panel systems.
- That includes seven in Philly proper — four district buildings, a charter high school and a pair of Community College of Philadelphia buildings.
Worth noting: Philly's school district currently has solar panel systems on only two of its schools, Albert M. Greenfield School and S. Solis-Cohen School, per a district spokesperson.
Zoom out: Across Pennsylvania, installing rooftop solar panels on school buildings could power as many as 187,000 homes each year and save schools $342 million, per the report.
- The resulting reduction in carbon dioxide pollution would equate to taking nearly 300,000 gas-powered cars off the road.
🏆 Allegheny County ranked first in potential savings from installing solar panels ($44 million over 25 years), despite having fewer school buildings than Philly.
Between the lines: Schools are ideal spots for solar panels because they're often flat and unshaded, per the report.
- Those systems could also be installed on other school land, like parking lots.
- Plus: Schools with battery-powered solar panels could retain power during extreme weather and serve as neighborhood shelters.