The $1.67 million project is well underway along the east side of the jail. Inside a conference room at the jail, chair of the Centre County Board of Commissioners Michael Pipe, talked about the significance of the project.

“Today represents savings, security and stewardship,” Pipe said.”The solar panels and the energy they are going to produce are going to offset many of our current costs that we have from rising electricity costs, so we’re going to see some savings there. We’re also going to be able to sell back solar renewable energy that’s going to allow us to pay for the system itself.”

The solar equipment expected to be used will feature 380-watt bifacial solar panels manufactured by VSUN, a post-driven ground mount racking manufactured by RBI and a 125-kilowatt inverters, manufactured by SMA.

The 25-year contract includes construction, operation, maintenance and repair of the solar panel array.

CHRIS MORELLI/THE EXPRESS Chair of the Centre County Board of Commissioners, Michael Pipe, explains the layout of the new solar array being constructed at the Centre County Correctional Facility.

The 1.2 megawatt array is expected to offset 100 percent of the Centre County Correctional Facility’s annual energy usage. The county made financial arrangements through Centre County Solar Partners, LLC and eventually contracted with Solar Renewable Energy, LLC. The county then entered into a 25-year Power Service Agreement (PSA) .

In exchange for a fixed monthly payment, the Centre County Correctional Facility will receive a reduced electric bill and will also receive a Pennsylvania Solar Renewable Energy Credits income.

Over 40 years, the array is projected to save the county $6.6 million.

Commissioner Mark Higgins said that the project puts Centre County in a good spot financially.

“In 2016, the facility here used about $168,000 of electricity. Once the switch is flipped for the solar panels, we might be down to $5,000 and even that might be too high of an estimate,” Higgins said. “Solar power has come a long way over the decades. Solar power now has grid parity with the electrical grid. Grid parity means that electricity generated from solar power now costs the same — or less — than electricity purchased from the grid.”

CHRIS MORELLI/THE EXPRESS Centre County commissioner Steve Dershem examines one of the post-driven ground mount racking system for the solar array, which is currently under construction at the Centre County Correctional Facility.

Last year, the jail spent $111,000 on electricity and the solar array is expected to provide about $106,000 of that. The county will be able to take excess power and sell it back at retail rates. Additionally, credits can be banked to be used on days when the array does not generate enough energy.

Commissioner Steve Dershem, who was originally opposed to the solar array, has come around on the project.

“This is a much bigger and grander scheme of what we thought would be energy savings for Centre County Government,” Dershem said. “What we do realize is that there is value — not only to the taxpayer — but to the environment and so many other things. It’s just about doing things right.”

Also present at the groundbreaking were Douglas Berry, the president and CEO of Solar Renewable Energy, LLC; Jason Wert, PE of Rettew — Energy and Environmental Engineering; Peter Buck, chair of the Solar Power Purchase Agreement Partners.

Although there is still a long way to go before the project is completed, Berry said that he’s pleased with the progress thus far.

CHRIS MORELLI/THE EXPRESS Construction continues at the Centre County Correctional Facility, where a solar array will soon power the jail. On Tuesday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to showcase those who brought the project to fruition.

“It’s actually starting to go up, so it’s a good sign to see how large this facility is going to be,” Berry said. “We’re looking forward in the next week or so, to see the panels go on. We’ve had good weather, which has helped us.”

Berry said that the panels being used are state of the art.

“Hopefully, this will benefit the county for many, many years to come,” he said.

Wert said that the project has been a special one.

“As a lifelong Centre County resident, it was nice to have a project like this. To see a local investment in solar energy … there are many benefits,” Wert said.

The solar panels will pay dividends down the road, he said.

“It is a state of the art project. After 30 years, the panels will still have 85 percent life left on the system. These are very long-term investments that can provide very long-term benefits for the community,” Wert said.

Buck, who brought his team to the podium, lauded the county for its efforts on the project.

“I want to congratulate the county commissioners and their staff who worked on this. I think this is a really great project,” Buck said. “Moreover, I want to congratulate the citizens of Centre County for electing leaders who have decided to make a really financially-wise, environmentally-smart, locally-sourced, secure energy system that we can rely on.”