Richland: "Supervisors OK $2.4M solar panel contract"

By Hilary Bentman, Intelligencer, April 13, 2010:

By the end of the summer, solar panels will be installed on 3 acres in Richland.

And by the end of the year, the panels should be helping to power some township properties. . . .

The panels are expected to generate more than 25 percent of the electricity needed to power township- and water authority-owned facilities.

The project is being paid for through a $500,000 grant from PA Conservation Works, a state Department of Environmental Protection-run grant program that provides federal stimulus money to projects that could reduce energy consumption.

The remainder of the cost is being split between the township and the Richland Township Water Authority.

Officials expect the project will pay for itself in a few years through savings on energy costs and the sale of renewable energy credits. . . .