BELLEFONTE — Centre County is taking another step toward its goal of running its government operations on solar power with the launch of the third phase of its long-term renewable energy initiative.

On Tuesday, county commissioners approved a Solar Energy Power Service Agreement with Centre County Solar Partners Phase 3, LLC. The agreement paves the way for construction of an approximately one-megawatt solar array at the Centre County Correctional Facility.

County officials said the array, the second at the correctional facility, will offset all electricity use at the county’s Willowbank Building offices and insulate the county government from rising electricity costs.

Phases 1 and 2 of the project included solar arrays installed at the county correctional facility in Benner Township and on the roof of the recently completed Community Services Building in Bellefonte, respectively.

The 1.197-megawatt DC ground-mounted solar array at the correctional facility approved in Phase 1 was completed in April 2020. It is projected to generate more than 60 million kilowatt-hours of electricity over the next 40 years, offsetting nearly 100% of the facility’s annual electricity use.

The Phase 3 solar array will be funded through annual service payments ranging from $129,000 to $136,916, paid in equal installments over the first five years of operation. The cost does not include an advance contract service payment.

The agreement includes an early termination fee of $1,350,890 in year six and, like Phases 1 and 2, the county’s option to purchase the system.

According to County Administrator John Franek, the project is expected to generate positive cash flow from the first year. Initial project savings over the lifespan of the project, he added, are anticipated to exceed $5 million.

“The fact that it saves us money from the very beginning is certainly an extremely valuable component of the way the financials on this are structured,” Commissioner Amber Concepcion said, calling the initiative a “tremendous investment to buffer the county from future cost increases in electricity.”

Pennsylvania commercial electricity prices have increased roughly 65-70% since 2020, rising from about 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour to about 14 cents, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. Experts say the increase is driven by higher gas prices, rising grid and capacity costs and increased demand, driven in part by new AI data centers.

Commissioner Concepcion said that as more demands are placed on the state electric grid, governments must consider expanding local generation capacity.

“For the county to eventually own most of its own power generation is really future-proofing the county from unpredictable electricity rates,” she said.