TUNKHANNOCK, WAYNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A school district in Wyoming County is planning to get its power from the sun, but going green costs a lot of green.
28/22 News Reporter Jason Livecchi tells us how school officials plan to pay for the project.
"Solar and wind, they're out there but to install it and to get it up and running there is a cost as they say, there ain't no free lunch," said Former Tunkhannock Principal and resident Susan Barziloski.
The Tunkhannock School District has just recently approved the installation of solar panels to power the school district.
The project is estimated to cost around $10,000,000 and according to the developer, Green Works Development, a portion of the price tag will be offset by federal solar credits.
"It's a good thing but I just wanna know how much more is it going to cost us to put it in and, the school district, they just if they think it's a good idea they just go ahead and then we taxpayers for the bill which I'm not always in favor of," said Susan Barziloski, resident and former Tunkhannock principal.
Residents of Tunkhannock also wondered if they are going to see tax breaks after the installation.
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"I don't know a lot about solar energy but I do know this, the heating bills are going up and you have a clientele here that live on certain amount of income, and I think maybe the taxes would remain a little bit more steady with the future of solar may be," said former Tunkhannock teacher and resident Margy O'Malley.
According to slides used at the school board meetings this past year, the company says there will be a solar panel field on the ground in Mehoopany and some school buildings will also have their roofs replaced so panels can be installed on top. If the plan moves forward some people can see the benefits.
"I think it's a good investment with rise of electricity rates. I think it would be good for the town for the township," O'Malley said.
The Tunkhannock residents 28/22 News Reporter Jason LiVecchi spoke with on Monday were also concerned about how effective the solar panels will be in the area.
"Well, the biggest worry is, is it going to be successful, and what if the sun doesn't shine every day I don't know how they're going to collect enough energy to fulfill all the needs for that big facility," said Barziloski.
