Ameresco Brings Rooftop Solar to Community College of Philadelphia

The Community College of Philadelphia is adding rooftop solar panels to two of its campuses, the main Spring Garden Street location and the Northeast Regional Campus. Energy company Ameresco is handling the project, which is backed by Pennsylvania's Solar for Schools grant program. Construction is set to start in summer 2026 and finish by the end of the year.

The project is structured as an energy performance contract, a financing arrangement where savings from lower energy use help pay for the upgrade over time. The goal is to cut the college's reliance on grid power, add resilience during outages, and support Pennsylvania's broader push for renewable energy at schools. The college also plans to use the solar arrays as a teaching tool for students.

This isn't a program homeowners can apply to directly, since Solar for Schools is aimed at educational institutions. But it's a sign that Pennsylvania is actively funding solar installations through state grants, which is worth knowing if you're curious about what support exists in your area. Homeowners looking into rooftop solar for their own house would need to check what residential incentives or rebates Pennsylvania, or their own state, currently offers, since school grant programs like this one work under different rules than residential solar incentives.