The U.S.' largest solar contract to be awarded by a school district was granted on Thursday when SunPower Corporation signed on to build $60 million worth of photovoltaic systems for California's Mount Diablo Unified School District, according to published reports.

The San Jose-based company intends to ultimately fulfill the assignment in early 2012, by when it will have installed more than 35,000 solar panels capable of generating 11.2 megawatts of solar capacity. The school system, located in California's Bay Area, anticipates saving about $192 million over the 30-year duration of the contract.

"We are very excited to team with SunPower to bring the largest K-12 solar project in the country to fruition," Gary Eberhart, school board vice president, told brighterenergy.org. "We are delivering substantial savings to our general fund, which will preserve financial resources and help our schools maintain an emphasis on academic performance."

He said the contract was granted following 18-months-worth of exploring possibilities to reduce expenses for energy.

"The Mount Diablo Unified School District is capturing a great opportunity to reduce its utility costs while helping the state meet its renewable energy goals," Jim Pape, president of SunPower’s residential and commercial business group, told the publication.