BUFFALO, N.Y. — Solar energy has been used for more than 2,700 years. It started simple, with glass lenses being used to make fire by magnifying the sun’s rays. The technology has evolved to power our homes, businesses, even schools. 

Now, there’s legislation in the hands of the New York State Assembly that aims to make it easier for solar installation at schools. 

A clear day, a nice view and the sun beaming off of solar panels on the roof of Hutchinson Tech High School in downtown Buffalo. It’s one of 19 buildings in the district to have solar panels. The project at the time was the largest district initiative in the state, dating back to 2018. 

To further explain, we head up the 190, to Montante Solar. 

“At that time the way school districts were going through it was through purchase power agreements or through a PPA,” Katie Soscia, business development director for Montante Solar said.

Soscia explains that’s when a company like Montante pays the capital price and owns the panels. The district then agrees to buy the power produced and they get a percentage of savings on it. She says Buffalo Public Schools is saving roughly 10% on power costs. But, times have changed.

“Now, electricity is breaking [the] budget and it’s a problem and your reserve plan for electricity is now sometimes two or three times the cost it was a couple [of] years ago,” Soscia said.

Not ideal for school districts. The price tag for a solar project doesn’t come cheap either. 

“An average out-of-school district rooftop would be a 200 kW system, which would be around 400 panels and the cost of each panel, maybe somewhere around $250,” Soscia explained. 

That doesn’t include plus the inverters, balance system, wiring and labor to install it all. But there’s a change in the works.

Enter Syracuse-area assemblyman Al Stirpe. He’s co-sponsoring legislation that would extend the time period for recovery of energy performance contract costs incurred by school districts from 18 to 25 years. This would fall in line with federal standards. He says it’s all about certainty.

“When you have a contract like this, what it does, is it guarantees your energy costs over a certain period of time, and that is very helpful,” Stirpe said. 

This is because energy performance contracts use the projected savings from the contract to pay for the project, avoiding significant upfront costs and allowing for reinvestments over time. 

“The total cost savings is about 30%, Stirpe said. “You know New York state is trying to transition away from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy, and it’s really up to the public sector to lead the way.”

Overall, the change is all about helping future generations, by protecting our planet. The BPS project alone offsets 1,700 metric tons of CO2 annually. Taking a look at the bigger picture, Montante Solar gave us the following numbers:

• 19 Schools totaling 3MW size- this collectively produces +3,217500 kWh of energy over the last year 
• Hutch Tech is a 150kW system and produced +174,000 kWh of energy over the last year 

Plus, the savings in electricity means more money for other areas, giving students more tools to make the grade.

Montante Solar has seen an increase in inquiries. Right now, there are two major projects in the works with schools and universities.

As for the solar legislation, it currently sits in the Assembly’s Education Committee. Stirpe says he has no idea if it will pass with the session, but he is confident there will be plenty of discussions.