SOQUEL, Calif. -- Soaring electric bills have school officials looking to the sun for help in Santa Cruz, Monterey television news station KSBW reported.

Crews began installing solar panels on the roof of Soquel High School Wednesday afternoon.

School Goes Solar To Reduce Costs

School administrators said the project will not only cut electricity costs, but also emphasize their goal of becoming stewards of the environment.

Public schools have often looked to creative means to fund important programs, and the Santa Cruz City School District has turned its focus by going green.

Nearly 1,800 solar panels are being installed on five buildings on the Soquel High School campus.

When completed, the project will generate 40 percent of the school's electricity.

The Santa Cruz City School District will save about $12,000 a year with the new panels.

The district signed a 25-year contract with MP2 Power of San Rafael.

"We're supposed to save just about as much carbon as we are money -- 1.1 million pounds," said school board president Cynthia Hawthorne.

As gasoline prices continue to plunge, so will solar and other alternative projects that compete against power plants.

"It's a dynamic resource that's subject to lots of stresses and strains," said Solar Technologies president Roger DeNault. "So, I suspect it'll go down for a while longer and turn right around and go right back up again."

School officials said that eventually they would like to generate 90 percent of their own power through solar energy.

The Santa Cruz City School District is also looking into becoming a waste-free school by reducing the enormous quantity of garbage generated, and using green-friendly cleaning solutions and paper products.