Solar panels. (Courtesy of. Flickr/Oregon Department of Transportation).
The focus on renewable energy sources was highlighted as a priority for Montgomery County last week as officials authorized the advertisement of a request for proposal.
The initiative is part of a Sustainable Energy Partnership project, which includes partnerships with Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties to install solar capabilities at more than a dozen sites across the region.
“This enables us to take a big step towards making our energy consumption across the collar counties more sustainable and cost effective for our residents,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Jamila Winder.
The county’s involvement in the partnership goes back to 2020, according to Winder, as representatives from the collar counties attempt to find a vendor to install “rooftop and ground-mounted solar arrays” at designated locations throughout the greater Philadelphia area.
“If approved, this is another example of Montco, with our collar county neighbors, being a leader on the issues that impact the county and our region most,” Winder said.
Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Neil Makhija agreed, stressing the importance of the partnerships and impacts on constituents.
“This seems to be the first of its kind partnership that we should really be proud of working together as a region with the collar counties. We’re going to deliver real lasting benefits to the county and all of our residents by investing in solar power and clean energy,” Makhija said, estimating a cost savings of $25 million over 11 years.
“This will really add up and help us invest in other infrastructure needs that we have,” he said. “It will also give us more predictable energy rates in an increasingly unpredictable energy market. We all know this. Look at your own PECO bill.”
The initial specifications noted “no obligation to the county to fund proposals resulting from RFP,” which Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello echoed. Each county would be “responsible for their respective installations” in terms of funding.
“We are going out for information but we’re not obligating anything at this time,” he said. “I myself will be really curious to see … the information that comes back because sustainability is a great goal and concept, and I hope that we’re able to get it, but I also look at it from a business standpoint to make sure the ROI is there and we’re not just using county funds.
“There has to be a payoff at the end from savings,” he continued. “I’m really excited to see what information comes back and we’ll be in a better position to decide how we move forward I believe.”
Makhija also emphasized Montgomery County’s long term environmental goals in an effort to run in a “cleaner, more sustainable” way. In addition to this proposed regional partnership, officials have eyed the ongoing Norristown Dam hydroelectric generation process.
Makhija and DiBello differed in their opinions on the project as costs continue to rise. In November 2025, county commissioners amended an existing agreement to dispense $400,000 more, bringing the contract’s total value to $1.05 million.
“I’m not really comfortable about the $400,000 for the hydroelectric dam,” DiBello said in November 2025, adding “my support of this is dwindling even more and more.”
“The dam’s already built. We have a dam. We just need to add the turbines essentially to generate electricity,” Makhija said in November 2025.
Makhija maintained last week these types of environmental initiatives would move momentum forward to accomplish their goals.
“We would love to get to a place where we are operating on 100 percent clean energy here in the county,” Makhija said last week. “We can do that through this solar initiative as well as the hydroelectric dam initiative in the Schuylkill [River].”
