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Developer outlines solar proposal for Allegheny-Clarion Valley SD, seeks due-diligence authorization
Summary
McClure Company presented a solar plan sized to offset about 110% of the district’s electricity use and said a power-purchase agreement could yield roughly $1.7 million in preliminary savings over 30 years; the company asked the board to authorize a nonbinding due-diligence letter.
Dib Smith, a senior project developer with McClure Company, presented the Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District board with a desktop solar concept and asked the board to authorize a nonbinding letter of authorization to begin due diligence.
Smith said the firm reviewed the district’s most recent 12 months of utility data and estimated roughly 900,000 kilowatt-hours of annual use. “We’ve sized an array that would offset a 110% of the electricity that’s being used today,” he told the board, adding McClure had modeled a roughly 700-kilowatt system and an annual generation projection near 962,000 kilowatt-hours in year one.
The presentation emphasized two implementation paths: a power-purchase agreement (PPA) with no upfront cost to the district, or a direct purchase. Under the PPA scenario McClure proposed to lease land, install and operate the array and sell electricity to the district at a fixed price; the firm’s preliminary table showed about a 22% discount compared with current supply costs and cumulative savings of about $1,700,000 over 30 years. Smith described those figures as preliminary and said the company would return with final numbers after site due diligence.
Board members asked procedural and risk questions during a short Q&A. A board member asked about decommissioning responsibilities; Smith said decommissioning language would be spelled out in the contract and noted that local township requirements and decommissioning bonds are commonly used. He also flagged federal tax-credit timelines and said a contract before May 2026 would help safe-harbor investment tax credits; he asked the board to authorize a nonbinding letter to allow McClure to complete engineering and final pricing.
The administration did not present a separate fiscal analysis at the meeting; no formal vote to authorize McClure’s letter of authorization was recorded during the session.
Next steps: McClure will perform site due diligence and return with detailed pricing and contract options if the board chooses to proceed.
