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With the help of McClure Company Manheim Township School District installed 1,224 solar panels atop Manheim Township Middle School in October 2026. 
With the help of McClure Company Manheim Township School District installed 1,224 solar panels atop Manheim Township Middle School in October 2026. 
With the help of McClure Company Manheim Township School District installed 1,224 solar panels atop Manheim Township Middle School in October 2026. 
 
Manheim Township School District installed 1,224 solar panels atop its middle school in October, making it the latest school-based renewable energy project in Lancaster County, joining solar installations at Conestoga Valley and Elizabethtown Area school district buildings.
The 734 kilowatt system at the Manheim Township Middle School is expected to generate 925,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy per year, for an estimated $45,000 in annual savings for the 6,000-student district. Manheim Township plans to operate on a $138.53 million budget this school year.
Manheim Township’s solar array came at no cost to the district. The Harrisburg-based energy service organization McClure covered upfront costs associated with the design, installation and maintenance of the solar panel system. Under the 30-year agreement, McClure will own and maintain the system while providing the district long-term access to renewable energy at a predictable cost.
With the help of McClure Company Manheim Township School District installed 1,224 solar panels atop Manheim Township Middle School in October 2026. 
Under the agreement, district spokesperson Jenn Davidson said McClure would sell energy to the district at a rate of $0.1056 per kWh, with a 2% annual escalation which is currently lower than PPL Electrical Utilities’ rate of $0.1308 per kWh.
“Beyond providing an immediate cost advantage compared to standard utility pricing, this agreement secures long-term budget certainty and stability for the district in the face of ongoing energy market volatility,” Davidson said.
Democratic state Rep. Nikki Rivera, of Manheim Township, attended a ribbon-cutting for the solar panel installation in October alongside Philadelphia state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, a Democrat who chairs the state House of Representatives Energy Committee.
Rivera praised the district for installing the solar panels and offering “impactful education for younger generations on the power of renewable energy and its benefit to our – THEIR – environment,” in a post to her Facebook Oct. 24.
In addition to providing energy for the district, the solar panel system will provide a learning experience for students. The district plans to create an interactive public dashboard allowing students, staff and community members to view the energy generated in real time.
The district is also seeking funding through the state’s Solar for Schools Grant program to install solar panels on a yet-to-be constructed maintenance/food service building.
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Through the Solar for Schools program established in 2024, Pennsylvania schools can reduce the cost of implementing solar energy systems with funding from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. The district is requesting up to $360,000 in grant funding for the proposed 221-kilowatt solar panel system.
East of Manheim Township, Conestoga Valley’s 84-panel installation on its Gerald Huesken Middle School building generated 79,110 kWh and saved the district $13,448.70 since it began operating in April 2025, according to Technology Education teacher Matt Maisano.
A Conestoga Valley Education Foundation grant, which Maisano secured, covered $65,000 of the nearly $90,000 installation.
Additional savings through Solar Renewable Energy Credits are funneled back into the foundation to fund future grants and educational opportunities in the district. Pennsylvania law allows solar panel owners to earn a credit for every 1,000 kWh generated by their system and those credits can be traded in for added revenue as an incentive for using renewable energy.
Elizabethtown Area has been using solar energy since 2019, when McClure installed a 500 kilowatt system consisting of 2,000 solar panels, district spokesperson Troy Portser said in an email Tuesday. The panels were installed on ground between Bear Creek and East High Street schools in Mount Joy Township; the system is estimated to generate 640,000 kW of energy per year, or enough to power 59 homes and travel 1.9 million miles with an electric car, Portser said.
Elizabethtown Area partnered with McClure in 2017 to install the panels with no upfront capital costs — an agreement similar to that of Manheim Township’s and made possible through the 2016 Guaranteed Energy Savings Act.
Under the 2016 act, public entities — including school districts, local governments and state agencies — can partner with Energy Service Companies to make major energy and facility improvements guaranteed to result in energy and operational cost savings that would meet or exceed the cost of the project over its contract term.
McClure and Elizabethtown Area’s 20-year contract also made updates to light fixtures, HVAC settings and to the buildings themselves possible.
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