Center County Solar Group partners sign contracts; 13.51 MW Route 58 project in Clarion County moves toward construction

State College Borough staff and council members reported on June 16 that all 10 participating municipal partners in the Center County Solar Group (CCSG) have signed the power-purchase agreement (PPA) documents for a solar project identified in the PPA as “CL Route 58.” The PPA describes a 13.51 megawatt AC facility sited in Sligo, Clarion County; the documents were signed locally by participating municipalities as of the meeting date.

The CCSG update, delivered by Tom Fontaine, said the project appears ready to proceed once developer and retailer signatures are obtained. The PPA lists a June 30, 2025 start-of-construction target but the borough and staff noted there are no financial penalties tied to missing that start date; a separate October 2026 completion date carries penalties. Fontaine said the Route 58 project received preliminary land-development approval from the Clarion County Planning Commission on Nov. 16, 2022, giving developers five years — until Nov. 2027 — before requiring new approvals.

Why it matters: municipal officials emphasized that the CCSG PPA locks a long-term electricity price that the borough and partners expect will save money compared with volatile market rates. Council members repeatedly framed the initiative as both a climate leadership project and a fiscal hedge against rising energy costs.

Details from council and the working group Peter Buck, who identified himself as chair of the working group and facilities-committee member in the school district, said the PPA terms are locked in the signed local documents and that the project will allow the participants to claim electricity from a single renewable facility. “The rate year 1 for the PPA itself is about 4.6¢ per kilowatt hour. And year 15, it’s about 5.7¢ per kilowatt hour,” Buck said. He and other council members stressed those PPA numbers do not include transmission fees and retail adders that can vary independently.

Fontaine told council the CCSG consultant will send contracts to the developer Prospect 14 and to Direct Energy (NRG) for their signatures; once those signatures arrive, the developer is expected to remove the project’s suspension in the PJM interconnection queue and provide a construction schedule. Fontaine said he had “no information to indicate” the October 2026 completion requirement was in jeopardy.

Council asked several procedural and transparency questions. Members requested public access to the final signed documents once returned; Fontaine said those are public records and will be posted when available. Council also pressed whether any municipal staff had signed beyond their authority; Fontaine said he was not aware of any unauthorized signatures and that municipal staff, school district staff and COG staff had coordinated the signings.

Location and land-use questions Councilmembers and the public raised questions about the project site and local impacts. Fontaine and Buck said the Route 58 facility is in Clarion County (Sligo) and not on Center County farmland; they said it will be built on reclaimed strip-mine land. Councilmembers noted the project had been discussed previously with other candidate sites (including projects in Walker Township) and that the working group had ranked proposals before moving forward with the Route 58 site.

Next steps and oversight Fontaine said GreenSky (the project consultant) will coordinate final signatures and convene the new CCSG board to set meeting logistics and a construction schedule. Council agreed to request monthly updates from staff on the project’s status. Buck said the working group expects additional external recognition (awards) now that the local signatures are complete.

No formal council vote was taken on the project during the June 16 meeting; the presentation was an informational update and staff noted future decisions (permits, construction approvals) will follow established regulatory processes.