The Panther Valley School Board learned costs of a proposed solar project for the school complex in Summit Hill last week.

The McClure Company, a construction management company that specializes in school energy projects, provided costs involved for an array located on the far corner of district’s property near the soccer field and an access road.

The solar project would cost $3.78 million, but would be offset by a 40% reimbursement from the federal government. That reimbursement would reduce the cost by $1.47 million.

The district will also be seeking a $500,000 grant from the state Solar for Schools program, Business Manager Jesse Walck said, which would further reduce the cost of the project.

The district would be able to supply all of the electricity for its intermediate school and junior-senior high schools, and be able to sell electricity back to the grid, Walck said.

The solar array could also be expanded to include any additional buildings at the school complex in the future, he said.

The project would save the district $3.98 million over 30 years, and district would hit a break-even point on the cost in 12 or 13 years, according to numbers provided by McClure.

The district had anticipated cost savings in excess of $4 million, which changed after McClure explored different potential sites for the array.

The current site would see the proposed array on both sides of an access road on the school property, and involves no wetlands and minimal tree removal.

The board will consider moving ahead with the project at its next meeting on Jan. 27 at 6 p.m.