Tulare City Schools is hoping to save millions by going green

Fresno, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Tulare City School District is going green in a trend that has many school officials looking to the sun to save money.

The skies over Tulare were cloudy and full of rain on Tuesday but once they clear and the warmer seasons are upon us, officials at Tulare City School District will be reaping the benefits of the Central Valley sun.

Director of Business of Tulare City Schools, Joyce Nunes said, "We started investigating to see whether it would be a viable project for us and over a year's worth of time we came to the conclusion that yes, it would be a good project for Tulare City Schools."

Nunes showed ABC30 the plans to construct solar panels at all 16 of Tulare City Schools' sites, including at the district office next to Cherry Middle School. The $10 million project will be paid for with the help of Proposition 39, which secured the district a $3 million interest-free loan, plus rebates.

Alpine Vista School is one of six schools that will get the solar panels first. Officials say the project, even in the rain, will save $6 million for the district over the next 25 years.

"We spend currently one million dollars a year so we hope to use the offset of that cost, as well, to pay down the loans we will be incurring," said Nunes.

Tulare isn't the only local school district looking to save green by going green. Visalia Unified School District installed solar panels at more than a dozen of their schools, saving the district millions of dollars each year. Tulare City School District says while there are monetary savings and energy savings, the project will also save water, 2.6 million gallons.

Nunes explained, "That (water) won't be attributed to producing the electricity in the traditional format so the savings for the environment, we believe, is also an untold cost that will reap benefits for all of us."

Tulare City Schools will have all solar panels up and running by July 2015.