Northern Arizona University has come to an agreement with BriteStreet Energy Group to supply the university with solar panels atop the San Francisco Street Parking Garage after years of bumpy negotiations. The agreement, signed by University President Rita Cheng, approves the installation of a 700-kilowatt system, offsetting nearly 2 percent of NAU’s annual electricity usage.

NAU will pay BriteStreet for the energy generated from the system for the first 20 years and then the university will have paid for the system and will then outright own it. This solar system will be the largest individual solar installation in the Flagstaff area, capable of generating 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, roughly equivalent to the energy demand of 110 homes.

A substantial portion of funding for this project comes from the NAU student group Green Fund who will contribute $100,000 annually for a decade and will have a say in how the energy savings will be spent once the university owns the solar system. A $5 fee per semester levied on all university students helps finance the Green Fund’s budget. The estimated total cost of the solar system will be about $4 million.

NAU will pay BriteStreet 3 cents per kilowatt-hour for energy, which is 1.2 cents less than current rate APS charges the university. According to projections, NAU will save around $12,000 annually on its power bills for the next two decades. Once owning the panels, the savings increase and the university estimates that it will save in total about $1 million in energy costs.

Construction on the solar system will begin in June with scheduled completion for September of this year.