Pennsylvania Masonic Village Goes Solar

The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania's Masonic Village at Elizabethtown has just installed a $4.5 million solar panel electrical generation system, capable of 1.2 megawatts of power. The panels cover a 5 acre plot of land on the 1,400 acre campus. It will provide about 5 percent of the campus’ power, and is ultimately expected to save $40-60,000 annually.

According to Masonic Village CEO Joseph Murphy in a story on www.cleanenergyauthority.com,

Masonic Village will purchase the power provided by the system from Elizabethtown Solar Electric Partners, LLC, under a power-purchase agreement. Murphy said he thought the contract was for 20 years, with an option to purchase the system outright in year six or seven of the contract. The company is installing and financing the $4.5 million project, Murphy said.

Elizabethtown Solar will receive $1 million in state grants for the installation, helping to reduce the cost of the power.
Murphy explained that the grants were one of the reasons that made the project possible.

“It is an area that made solar more viable,” he said. “The technology keeps getting better and cheaper. There are a couple of matrix changes that could make this very viable in the near future.”

Looking forward, Murphy said Masonic Village may consider adding more solar at the site.
“We have capacity here on this campus,” he said.

The community may expand in the future if the project is successful. Masonic Village also may put solar in at other sites.