Exeter Township SD awarded $344,000 state solar grant; board unanimously authorizes next-step fees to continue interconnection process

The Exeter Township School Board on May 19 heard a presentation from Trane Technologies on a proposed solar array for the district and unanimously approved a board directive to continue the interconnection and permitting process and to authorize a $7,500 upfront application/interconnection payment.

Trane representative Andrew Odell told the board the district received a $344,000 Solar for Schools grant and that the preliminary design is roughly a 1.1–1.3 megawatt DC photovoltaic system sited at Owatin Creek Elementary that would also supply a second school within about two miles via the utility

s part of the district's virtual net metering plan. Odell said the system would be several thousand panels and that financing incentives the company is including in projections are state SREC credits and a Direct Pay Tax Credit established in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Odell presented a pro forma showing an estimated project cost in the approximate $1.1 million range, a timeline where interconnection and permitting with the utility (referred to in the presentation as MedEd) can take up to six months and construction about three months, and an assumed 30-year cash-flow model that showed cumulative positive net savings (Trane's slide projected more than $9 million over 30 years). Brian Fike, Exeter's business administrator and board secretary, confirmed the district's current annual electric bill for the facilities being considered is close to $250,000 and noted a pending utility rate increase the district expects in June.

Board members asked about policy and schedule risks. Jason Mill asked whether the federal Direct Pay/ITC elements were at risk from federal changes; Odell said the direct-pay credit is in place for now but cautioned any longer-term legislative change could affect future projects. Odell also told the board the district must have final permission to operate from the utility by May 31, 2026, to qualify for a currently advertised $0.10-per-kilowatt-hour rebate and to lock in certain rebate levels.

The presentation described a financing path in which a state financing authority can provide 0% interest interim financing while grant and tax-credit reimbursements are processed; Odell said the district would own the system. He also said Trane and subcontractor Sheldon Martin expect minimal ongoing maintenance requirements, though contracts for weed control, annual visual inspections, and optional cleaning services are commercially available.

After presentation and questions about infrastructure and possible "gotchas" to be resolved in the interconnection agreement, the board took a straw-poll vote to proceed with the next engineering steps and to cover the $7,500 interconnection/permitting fee. The board recorded nine affirmative responses: Dr. Andrea Balor, Deborah Bloom, John Fidler, Dr. Anne Herring, Jason Mill, Timothy Morgan, Travis Odom, Julia Schaefer and Allison Wilson. The board chair noted that if further expenditures are required above this threshold, staff will return to the board for formal approval.

Next steps listed on Trane's timeline were (1) pay the interconnection/permitting fee and complete the utility interconnection process, (2) finalize site design once the interconnection agreement clarifies infrastructure needs, and (3) bid the finalized work and construct the system pending permits and approvals.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the meeting transcript and include Andrew Odell (Trane), Sheldon Martin (Trane subcontractor), and Brian Fike (business administrator/board secretary, Exeter Township School District).