MEDFORD, N.J. — The Medford Township School District has begun installation of solar electric generation panels at five elementary schools and its transportation center, The Medford Sunreports.

Officials say the system will save the district $7.3 million over 15 years. Four of the five schools will have complete roof arrays, while the schools and the transportation center will also have ground arrays.

Medford's solar electric generation station will be the largest in a K-12 district in the state, and one of the largest in the country, according to the Sun. When fully built, the system will produce 2.9 megawatts of solar electric power each year — enough to fulfill 70 percent of the district's annual energy needs.

The project is funded through a power purchase agreement, which allows the district to enter a private-public partnership with an investment group that will pay for system installation, maintenance and operation for 15 years. Nautilus Solar will own the system, and the district will purchase the energy from the investment group at a drastically reduced rate. The rate includes a fixed escalator over the 15-year agreement, the Sun reports.