Panther Valley School Board directors need more time to decide where to put a solar panel array that would provide power to two district schools.

Representatives from the McClure Company, a firm that specializes in energy projects for school districts, presented four potential sites to directors during Wednesday’s board meeting.

Alyssa Wingenfield, a McClure engineer, said each site was studied last month.

The first location had been discussed by the board after it signed a letter of intent in August to allow McClure to investigate putting panels on district property.

The site is on an old football practice field that is adjacent to the youth soccer field and near the district’s high and middle schools. McClure proposed a square-shaped arrangement of panels.

The second site is in the same area but Wingenfield said the panels would be arranged in a long line that would travel a slight slope.

Both would be easily accessible.

Installation costs for both sites would be about the same. The downfall, Wingenfield said, would be that the district would not be able to undertake any expansion projects given their close location to the campus.

The third site is a wooded area adjacent to state Route 209, and the fourth is another wooded lot near the district’s track. To install panels there, the lots would need trees and stumps removed, and leveling would follow.

Additional permitting might be needed because of the third site’s proximity to the highway, Wingenfield said.

“The fourth site could be a potential wetland,” Wingenfield warned.

The third and fourth sites would come at higher installation prices and wouldn’t yield a cost savings like the other two sites, she said.

“I’m sure you need a decision,” school board President Daniel Matika said.

“The sooner the better,” Wingenfield responded.

Matika said it might take about two weeks for the board to decide.

Director Anthony DeMarco’s motion to table the matter was seconded by Director Marco D’Ancona and passed unanimously.

Once a decision is made, Wingenfield said McClure will compile a final design complete with costs.

“We will come back to the board with those final numbers,” she said. “And then it will be the board’s final decision on whether to move forward with the project.”

With approval, the final design would be presented in the spring and construction could begin in the summer.

When the board began discussing the use of solar power this summer, district Business Manager Jesse Walck said the panels could save the district at least $1.02 million in electric costs over a 30-year period.

The project would produce enough electricity for the high school and the intermediate school to be 100% solar.

If the district opts for solar power it would be part of the Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement, or legislation that allows school districts to use basic utility dollars to fund capital and energy improvements.

It would also receive tax credits, meaning that if it builds the system, it could be reimbursed about 26% of the cost by the federal government.

The Internal Revenue Service mandates that McClure own, operate and maintain the solar field for at least five years, at which time the company can apply for the tax rebate on the district’s behalf. But the district would maintain the property by cutting the grass and other general duties.

The district could also qualify for a half-million dollar rebate for the solar installation from PPL. The rebate is on a first-come, first served basis.