By Brad Segall

SCHUYLKILL TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) — The suburban water company Aqua has gone solar at its water treatment plant near Phoenixville, a move designed to save the company and its customers money and shrink their carbon footprint.

The Pickering plant serves nearly half a million people in more than two dozen communities in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. Its new, $6.5-million solar farm is one of the largest in the state and features more than 7,500 panels that convert sunlight into power.

Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett was on hand to help them cut the ribbon.

“We want to be able to put you out as a leader of how businesses can embrace the solar technology to help them reduce their prices to your ratepayers and at the same time reduce the emissions in the air,” the governor said.

Corbett recently returned from a trade mission to Europe, where he told business leaders there that if they are considering a location in the United States they should look closely at Pennsylvania, which is quickly becoming a leader in alternative technology.