Local officials point fingers, butt heads over contentious Centre County solar project

As a Solar Power Purchase Agreement finally nears the finish line in Centre County, the yearslong project continues to be controversial, with elected officials butting heads and pointing fingers about legal fees, transparency and trust.

Josh Portney, a State College Borough council member who has been outspoken about the SPPA, held a press conference Monday at the Cuts by Kelly barbershop to discuss his continued concerns about the project.

At the press conference, Portney questioned the additional legal fees once more and proposed potentially-cheaper alternatives to the agreement while still utilizing solar energy — such as the installation of solar panels on the roofs of borough properties — and also said he feels he's being targeted for raising the concerns.

Unanticipated legal fees in the amount of $123,334 — spread across participating municipalities — prompted much of the recent discussion about the SPPA, but members of the SPPA working group have maintained the fees were nothing more than an oversight.

During the press conference, Portney pointed to two Right-to-Know requests submitted by Robert Zeigler that he said show how he's been targeted for airing concerns about the SPPA.

In a September text message, SPPA working group member Peter Buck asked State College Mayor Ezra Nanes if it were possible to strip Portney of his Centre Region Council of Government committee spots if Portney didn't apologize for previous statements about the SPPA. Nanes wrote, "That's an option. Need to discuss with (State College Borough Council President) Evan (Myers)."

"I'm not the only one asking questions about this deal, and I'm not the only one raising concerns, but it feels like I'm the only one being targeted and the only one being threatened ... " Portney said. "No one should be removed from committees for asking questions. I'm a new member, I was inaugurated in January and I'm the youngest member of this council, but that shouldn't be a consideration here. I'm just asking questions."

Nanes, however, is adamant that his message to Buck was just to make sure a friend was heard. He said he never intended to pursue removing Portney from committee seats, and never discussed it with Myers.

"Mr. Buck texted me, and with him being someone I care about, I wanted to acknowledge what he was saying, which was that he was feeling very attacked and upset, and he just wanted to know if something could be done about (Portney's comments)," Nanes told the CDT on Monday. "I acknowledged what he said, and I said back to him 'That's an option,' which of course it is, although it's never one I would consider. It was just a way of saying 'I hear you.'"

Buck said Monday that the text he had sent to Nanes was out of frustration that arose because of Portney's repeated "misleading comments" on the SPPA, not the questions he has raised.

In an email to the CDT, Myers wrote that no one — including Nanes — had reached out to him regarding the possibility of removing Portney from his committees.

"I know of no reason to remove Mr. Portney from any of his current assignments and never contemplated that," Myers wrote. "He, like our council members and members of the public, are free to ask questions about any issues. The facts should lead us to the answers. We can all have our interpretations of the answers — any disagreements of opinion would never warrant removal."

'Crisis of trust' At the borough's budget work session on Tuesday, Myers expanded on that statement. While he was not aware of Portney's press conference until it had already happened, Myers said he had a right to hold it and express his feelings, though he felt Portney should've come to him or Nanes before taking the texts to the public.

Myers also told those in attendance that if any board members wanted to ask more questions about the SPPA, or any topic in general, that they should do so at a public meeting, not on a radio show or by social media.

Much of the debate over the SPPA has taken place over the airwaves on the Tor Michaels Show, where Portney called the SPPA a "financial scandal" in September. Show host Tor McCartney is the chief of staff for state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, and Portney works as a legislative assistant in Conklin's office.

That connection has raised eyebrows and was questioned during Tuesday's work session by Nanes, who noted other opponents who have been vocal on the radio show have also been connected to Conklin's office.

"I don't like the insinuation that Rep. Conklin's office is controlling this council," Portney said in response, adding that he and McCartney serve different roles and their schedules do not align.

During the borough council work session, Nanes addressed a "crisis of trust" on the council and members discussed how to move forward, with council member Matt Herndon said the focus needs to be on the SPPA.

"We should be looking at the economics of this and not going into back-channel innuendo debates," he said.

Nanes also acknowledged how his text could've upset Portney, and Portney admitted that he should've reached out to Myers or Nanes before holding his press conference.

Where does the SPPA stand? The SPPA is continuing to move forward, and the final contracts are now beginning to be distributed to the participating municipalities, Buck said at a SPPA working group meeting on Wednesday. He expects the final contracts to be signed sometime in late November to early December.

COG may not have theirs signed until early January 2025, according to Pamela Adams, the sustainability planner for the Centre Regional Planning Agency and a member of the working group.

The 10 entities that remain in the agreement are College, Ferguson and Patton townships, State College Borough, the Centre Region Council of Governments, State College Area School District, State College Borough Water Authority, College Township Water Authority, Centre County Government and the Centre Hall Potter Joint Authority.

Halfmoon and Harris townships, CATA, the Centre County Housing Authority and the Centre County Refuse and Recycling Association were also involved in the SPPA to start, but dropped out of the agreement for differing reasons.

Dennis Hameister, a Harris Township Supervisor, said at the working group meeting that his township remains interested in joining the SPPA — the township can still opt into re-joining the agreement as long as the the final contracts of the remaining entities have not been signed.

Once the contract work is finished, construction on the solar array will start in Walker Township. Construction is expected to be completed in October 2026, with cost savings expected to begin the following year.

More information on the SPPA and its working group can be found at COG's website .

The SPPA working group's next meeting will be a tentative one, depending on how long it takes the participating entities to sign their final contracts. If an additional meeting is needed, it will be held at 9 a.m. on Dec. 11 at the State College Area School District Panorama Building.