Solar panels at UMass-Amherst expected to save $6.2 million

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — The University of Massachusetts-Amherst is installing more than 15,000 solar panels on campus this year to reduce electricity costs.

Panels are being installed on the roofs of several buildings and on steel canopies to be built over some parking lots. The $16 million project is being financed by ConEdison Solutions, based in Valhalla, New York. UMass says it will save $89,000 in electricity costs the first year and $6.2 million over 20 years.

The panels will be owned by ConEdison, and UMass will buy electricity through a power purchasing agreement. It’s part of a broader push to reduce carbon emissions at UMass.

The university will still generate 78 percent of its energy at a campus power plant. The new solar panels will replace one-fifth of the remaining 22 percent.