![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CSsolar.jpg\" "\\"The")
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The solar array installed at Corl Street Elementary School generates roughly 15% of the building\u2019s total power.<\/p>\n
Nabil K. Mark\/SCASD<\/p>\n
One result from the 2026-27 PA state budget that was passed on July 12: the \u201cSolar for Schools\u201d<\/a> program has been renewed. It provides significant funding to school districts to install solar panels. The renewal added $25 million into the pool of funds available. So far, 45 Pennsylvania school districts have taken advantage of this program.<\/p>\n Data center oversight<\/p>\n Data centers in Pennsylvania will now have to report<\/a> their exact water and power usage to the state. That provision was also included in the 2026-27 state budget bill. And PJM, the electric grid serving the commonwealth, is now required to give state regulators more insight into its energy demand forecasting.<\/p>\n Data center watch<\/p>\n As of early August, there were no data centers being proposed for Centre County, according to the Data Center Proposal Tracker<\/a> website. Three neighboring counties \u2014 Clearfield, Mifflin and Union \u2014 have one data center each under consideration. Thirty-three of Pennsylvania\u2019s 67 counties are proposed sites for data centers with Lackawanna County leading in numbers with 15 being planned there.<\/p>\n Wind farm operational<\/p>\n A 114-megawatt wind farm in Cambria County began operations<\/a> in July. Nineteen wind turbines have been placed on former coal-mining land and will generate enough electricity to power 32,000 households. It\u2019s a $300-million project owned by Competitive Power Ventures. It\u2019s located alongside Rock Run Recreation Area, an ATV park offering 140 miles of trails.<\/p>\n Floods and opioid deaths<\/p>\n There may be a link between flooding in Appalachia and opioid deaths. That\u2019s what work by Penn State researchers suggests. Their study found that \u201coverdose deaths significantly increased in the one to two years following a severe flood and persist up to 10 years after.\u201d Possible reasons: \u201cdecreased access to treatment, recovery and harm reduction services; increased trauma and instability; and persistent stigma around seeking help for opioid use.\u201d The study was published July 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rest stops for butterflies<\/p>\n A coalition of environmental groups hopes to create 250 monarch butterfly waystations in Cambria, Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties. These are plots of land that \u201cmust include milkweed, as it is the caterpillars\u2019 only source of food,\u201d according to a story reported<\/a> by The Allegheny Front. Monarchs need more places to breed, eat and rest as they migrate between Mexico and Pennsylvania. Their numbers have dropped by 80% since the 1990s due to habitat loss.<\/p>\n A solar milestone<\/p>\n