After several attempts to develop a viable solar solution for the authority's electrical power needs, the Summit Hill Water Authority decided unanimously at Tuesday night's meeting on two courses of action necessary to begin the project that could save them $1.33 million over the next two decades.

First, the board voted to pursue the project if a new grant for which they learned they were eligible from PPL could be obtained, and then they followed up with a motion to authorize Carbon Engineering to start the preliminary ground work to get the paperwork ready for land development and planning.The PPL grant is worth up to $500,000, if awarded, and makes the project viable."The site you wish to use is on LCN property and has room for a 345kW solar plant, but it could be expandable to the original project if needed," said Reading Electric representative Jim Kurtz. The original solar plant was planned to generate 584 kW in energy, enough for all of the hilltop community's governmental needs.Kurtz said the original plant would have provided enough power to totally support the authority's water plant, the borough building, the fire company building, the borough garage, the parks, the concession stand at the Ginter Field complex, as well as all municipal lighting."The reduced plant will only support the borough building and the authority's physical plant," Kurtz said.With regard to the borough, Chairman John Michalik said they were given the figures and plans for the larger plant, but at the time they said they weren't able to finance what they would need for the larger plant. This was discovered last month after the authority learned it was not able to apply for the Sunshine Program because they were not a municipality. When the borough was approached, it reportedly said it was financed to its limit due to the building project and could not participate in the project or apply for the grant at that time.Board member Robert Collevechio asked whether the borough reviewed all of its options and wondered if it really had no avenue to participate in the larger project. Collevecchio asked, "What if they decide down the road they want to participate?"Kurtz said the authority could apply for an expansion to the project.Authority engineer Mike Tirpak advised the authority it should be involving the borough in some of the discussions about whether the borough can finance the larger project or not, especially if the plan is to include the borough building in the power being generated by the solar array."You need to work out some kind of agreement with them now so it is in writing," he said.Borough resident Lou Alexander was in the audience, and offered his gratitude to the authority for pursuing this matter, as he felt it was doing the right thing.Michalik said he saw this project as an opportunity to be able to finance the long-needed repairs and upgrades to the infrastructure in the community. Much of the water system is well over 50 years old according to past discussions, and at a previous meeting it was stated that repairing the whole system would require at least a few million dollars.Michalik believes this solar project is the opportunity the authority needs to act upon the desire to save money and fix the infrastructure, without making huge increases in the rates.Previous attempts to obtain low interest loans from PennVEST and other organizations in the past did not meet with much success because it believed the rates charged by the authority were too low even though it covered the annual costs of the system. PennVEST wanted to see rates almost doubled before they would loan the authority money, and the board has historically resisted doing that to the community.This reduced version of the project hinges on the ability to get a majority of the PPL grant being offered to nonprofit organizations and municipalities. If the authority is able to apply for and receive the $500,000 maximum grant, it will supply enough initial money to reduce the $1.69 million dollar project to $1.19 million dollars, which the authority could then receive in a low interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.At that level, the $91,521 annual principal payment over the first 20 years of installation would be totally covered by the combined utility savings and the value of the renewable energy credits (REC), which in the first year alone would provide a surplus of more than $59,000. Over the course of 30 years, Kurtz said his initial projections show the authority could save over $1.33 million dollars."These numbers are still variable, but conservatively the project will start saving you money each year," Kurtz said.Alexander asked what kind of maintenance was required on the panels once they are functioning. Kurtz told him they simply need to be wiped off after pollen season ends. In a previous meeting, consultants told the board that the natural weather in Pennsylvania as well as the heat generated from the panels when operating keeps them clean for the most part.When asked if the authority will have problems applying for the PPL grant, Kurtz said that was one of the advantages of this financing. PPL does not require the municipality to apply. Any nonprofit corporation or municipal unit can apply for the grant.Kurtz said he has been asked why PPL is willing giving away all of these funds."The reason they are running this program, which could end without notice as the company never said how much funding they might give in grants, is because they are under a mandate from the state to reduce their energy demands by one percent in 2011 and three percent in 2013," said Kurtz.He explained that in order for PPL and other power companies to comply with this reduction in their usage, they are working with private companies and other organizations to help them finance private renewable power initiatives to create a reduction for the power companies' demands on the grid.Tirpak pointed out that the authority currently deals with peak demand on its bills and he asked how generating power works with the peak demand guidelines. Kurtz said that peak demand rates should reduce if solar energy is being produced at the times the peak occurs. Tirpak said the peak is usually when the pumps run in the plant. The crew members present said the pumps run several times throughout the day.When asked who oversees the credits created from the power creation, Kurtz said the plant will have a revenue grade meter installed that tracks this information, which the authority will be required to report monthly to the public utility commission and a regional market would then determine the RECs' value on the market.Michalik ended the 45-minute discussion by asking the board if it learned enough and was ready to pursue this project, even though it required the grant and the million-dollar-plus loan.A straw vote indicated unanimous support, which was then made official in a motion by Collevecchio, seconded by Michalik, to pursue the grant application and start the process.In a motion made almost immediately after the first, Joe O'Gurek and Ed Kruczek advanced a motion to have Carbon Engineering begin the research and preparations that will be needed for the land development and building plans. That motion also carried unanimously.