Pennsylvania school districts requested almost $90 million from the Solar for Schools grant program, more than triple the amount of available funding. The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) now has to decide which applications to approve.

Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D) introduced the legislation. She says schools in the program have the potential to save millions.

“It really is a program that could benefit all of our schools,” said Rep. Fiedler. “We just need to provide the funding for it so that schools can make it happen, and then they have savings and budget predictability for many, many years to come.”

Rep. Fiedler says the DCED will release its recommendations for grant applications in May, and an additional $25 million for Solar for Schools is proposed in the governor’s next budget.