Philly restarts stalled program to power 22% of city buildings by solar, including City Hall and the airport

Delayed by the pandemic and supply chain issues, a solar project is back on track to provide more than one-fifth of the power consumed by Philadelphia-owned buildings from a farm 100 miles to the west.

City officials announced Wednesday that they had signed an updated agreement to buy power generated from a solar array to be built by Arlington, Va.-based Energix Renewables on farmland in Straban Township, Adams County, not far from Gettysburg.

The project, known as Adams Solar, could start producing power by the end of 2023. City-owned buildings — including City Hall, Philadelphia International Airport, and the water department — would get 22% of their electricity from the array.

In return, the city will buy electricity at $44.50 per megawatt hour for 20 years from Energix, a rate established when the project was proposed in 2018.

“It’s really remarkable that we were able to keep pre-pandemic pricing,” said Dominic McGraw, the city’s energy manager, noting the current rise in energy prices. “So we’re pretty excited about that.”

Emily Schapira, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Energy Authority, said in a news release that the deal will help “decarbonize the city’s electricity” and save the city money over the long term.

But it hasn’t been a smooth road for the project.

Mayor Jim Kenney originally announced the effort in 2018, with a goal of supplying energy by 2020 or 2021 as part of a climate change strategy. The plan was part of the city’s goal to power 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

Plans called for solar panels to be mounted on tracking units that move with best available light and connect to the regional transmission grid coordinated by PJM Interconnection. Because there’s no way to send electricity directly to Philadelphia from Adams County, Philadelphia would take market ownership of the electricity, which would be delivered to Peco territory.

The energy would not be generated for residential or commercial use but distributed among city buildings and assets such as City Hall, Philadelphia International Airport, and the Water Department.

Adams Solar LLC, originally formed by Community Energy of Radnor, planned to hire businesses owned by people of color, women, and those with disabilities as subcontractors. Community Energy would then turn around and sell the project to an owner/operator.

The Straban Township Planning Commission gave conditional approval to the Adams Solar project in November 2019. The site is about three miles from Gettysburg.

However, the pandemic struck shortly after the conditional approval was given, temporarily shutting down construction in the state and causing supply chain issues in the solar market. Meanwhile, Engie bought Adams Solar LLC from Community Energy. The city hoped to have a solar farm operating by May 2021.

But a Straban Township official said in March that no one from Adams Solar ever returned to the planning commission to seek final approval. The township is waiting on information on impact fees, a traffic study, bonding, and signage.

Now, city officials say they are confident that Energix will complete the plan.

Danny Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for Energix, said the company is excited to a part of the project.

“We are in the final stages before the commencement of construction on the Adams Solar project, which we anticipate breaking ground in the coming months,” Fitzpatrick said.

The project will span roughly 25 properties over 1,200 acres, a portion of which will be covered by panels, according to Fitzpatrick.

“Our panels will be ready to install on time because of our strong relationship with U.S. panel manufacturer First Solar,” Fitzpatrick said. “We pride ourselves on all of our products being American-made, which has helped us avoid the pains of the ongoing international supply chain crisis.”