Tunkhannock Area SD committee recommends not to proceed with large solar array after utility upgrade costs jump

At a Tunkhannock Area SD facilities committee meeting, members recommended that the district not move forward with a proposed roughly 5‑megawatt solar array after the local electric utility provided a substantially larger estimate for required grid upgrades.

Paul, speaking to the committee, said the utility’s recent estimate was about $1.05 million with an accompanying “plus or minus 50%” qualifier — implying a possible range of roughly $500,000 to $1.5 million — and noted that earlier projections had put upgrades near $300,000. “If I came to the board and asked for you to approve a project plus or minus 50%,” Paul said, “you’d probably laugh me right off the stage.”

Paul and other members said that uncertainty and higher potential upgrade costs materially reduce projected savings. The committee discussed financing options; under a power service agreement the group was told near‑term savings would fall to about $150,000 a year for the first five years. Paul also noted long‑term maintenance items, saying an inverter replacement around year 20 could cost “150 or $200,000.”

A member observed that lifetime savings estimates used by the committee had shifted — cited during discussion as moving from roughly $28 million to about $18 million under current assumptions — and emphasized that part of the project’s economics depended on state tax credits that are politically set and therefore uncertain.

Committee members also raised community‑use concerns about siting the array, saying panels placed behind the Roslin facility would remove a practice field used for sports. Members said rooftop arrays would be less disruptive but would not address the same scale of generation.

After discussing the revised upgrade estimate and related uncertainties, all three committee members signaled they would recommend that the full board not proceed with the project at this time. The committee indicated it will report that recommendation during committee reports at the next board meeting, at which the full board will vote on whether to move forward. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn.