JOHNSBURG -- Johnsburg is the latest school district to begin a solar energy project, which officials hope will save money on energy costs in future years.

U.S. Light Energy has contracted with the district to install a 250-kilowatt system on the roof of its building.

Superintendent Michael Markwica said the district has submitted paperwork to the state Education Department. He said he hopes the approval will come through within the next several months so the solar array can be installed next summer.

“The projects were turning around relatively quickly because there were so many schools going through the process,” he said.

The solar array would produce more than 270,000 kilowatts of electricity, which is about 56 percent of the total electricity used annually by the district, according to a fact sheet provided by U.S. Light Energy.

Markwica said the company will install the system at its own cost. U.S. Light Energy originally was going to put in a 325-kilowatt solar array, but it had to be scaled down because of engineering and structural issues, according to a memo from Michael Fingar, analyst for the company.