Coatesville solar project put on hold

The date for the groundbreaking was set - Earth Day.

It was a fitting holiday to start a solar-panel project that developers say will make a high school in Chester County among the first in the country to run almost entirely on solar power.

The goal, developers say, is to make the Coatesville Area School District the most sustainable, energy-efficient school district in Pennsylvania. The plan to install 21,000 solar panels to produce 6.2 megawatts of power would be one of the largest solar projects in the state.

But in January, the project stalled. And it continues to be stalled. So the ground beside the high school stayed intact Wednesday.

The developer, Coatesville Solar Initiative, hoped to break ground on Earth Day so the system could be up and running by the end of the year. But the school district has not yet given the OK.

"The Coatesville Area School District is doing its due diligence to determine if entering into a contract with CSI is in the best interest of the district and its taxpayers," Beth Trapani, spokeswoman for the district, said in a statement.

If a deal makes sense, she said, the district will negotiate a new contract.

As it stands, the project calls for estimated energy savings in the millions of dollars, developers say. Coatesville Solar Initiative also plans to build an education and conference center to complement the solar panels.

School district officials have not said when they will make a decision.

"We're hopeful within the next few weeks, we'll have an answer from them," Bob Keares, managing partner of Coatesville Solar Initiative, said.

In January, school board members rescinded their earlier approval of the 25-year agreement, though they support turning to solar energy.

Since then, board members have requested more information from Coatesville Solar Initiative and have hired outside consultants to review the plan.

The delay in the project showed the far-reaching impact of county law enforcement's investigations into the district for financial mismanagement. The investigations led the district to sever ties with the former solicitor, who helped the district develop the solar agreement in November.

The former solicitor, James Ellison, and his former and current law firms are being sued by the district for "overbilling and unsound legal advice," Trapani said.

Keares said he has worked on similar projects at several schools in the state, including Delaware Valley Friends School in Paoli and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia.

Church Farm School, a private boys' school in Exton, partnered with someenergy companies a few years ago to install a five-acre solar plant to produce 1.1 megawatts of electricity per year, which will supply 75 percent of the school's energy consumption.

Other solar farms in the region include those at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Morgantown Business Park, Snyder Pretzels in Hanover, Pa., the Crayola plant outside of Bethlehem, Pa., and the Carlisle Area School District.

Among the Coatesville project's supporters are the Chester County Economic Development Council, the Western Chester County Chamber of Commerce, State Sen. Andy Dinniman (D., Chester), and former U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.).