A western New York State town will outfit five municipal buildings with solar panels in the spring.

The renewable energy on the buildings in Tonawanda, a northern suburb of Buffalo, will generate 25 kilowatts of electricity – enough to power three average-size homes, according to the local newspaper.

"It will be enough to run our administration areas, plus or minus a few other entities," town technical support director Michael Kaiser told the Tonawanda News.

The Tonawanda town board last week authorized the solar panel installation, which will be funded by $544,700 from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. Money for that grant program derives from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The buildings that will host the panels are the water treatment plant, the wastewater treatment plant, the Highway Department, the Water and Sewer Department and the Senior Citizens Center.

"It's going to save us a lot on energy, which we’re really looking forward to," Tonawanda Supervisor Anthony Caruana said. "It's a great opportunity for us to do that, and it's going green, which is great."