New solar panels that have been installed on a variety of buildings at the University of Colorado at Boulder will allow the company to reduce its carbon footprint while getting green energy at a discounted price.

The solar panels, which were manufactured by Suntech Power and installed by Bella Energy of Louisville, Colorado, were completed in the final months of 2009. The panels will produce 140,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year, or enough to power approximately 20 medium-sized houses.

The panels will be spread around a number of buildings, with the Coors Events/Conference Center and the Housing System Maintenance Center each having 210 solar panels installed on their roofs while the Wolf Law Building will receive 52 solar panels.

"This project had specific financing goals on top of our continued campus sustainability objectives," said Moe Tabrizi, CU-Boulder's energy conservation officer. "The university is not a tax entity and if we would have done this project on our own, we would have left a significant rebate, tax credits and a depreciation deal on the table."

While the panels will be free for the university to use initially, it will then have the opportunity to purchase them at a discounted price and sell any power they do not use back to Xcel Energy. Until then, Rockwell Financial Group will run the solar panels and sell power back to Xcel as well.