SANTA CRUZ – The Santa Cruz City Schools District is looking to the sun to power its campuses.

Trustees vote April 18 on a contract calling for energy broker Generating Assets to pay Solar Technologies to install about $24 million worth of photovoltaic cells at each school.

In return, the district would pay Generating Assets, rather than Pacific Gas and Electric, for the bulk of its electricity use, which now runs about $570,000 a year.

“It's the kind of investment that even if it costs us slightly more, we know the payoff going forward will be amazing,” trustee Cynthia Hawthorne said.

The deal would cut the amount of traditional electricity the district uses by 92 percent, saving up to $3.3 million in energy bills over 20 years and make its schools more environmentally friendly.

The district could remove as many as 3 million pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year, according to the California Energy Commission.

Information from: Santa Cruz Sentinel, www.santacruzsentinel.com