The University of Hawaii at Manoa has completed the installation of 1 megawatt of solar photovoltaic panels — the first phase of its PV canopy project — on the rooftop of the campus’s main parking structure.

The panels, which are expected to save UH about $100,000 a year, began generating electricity at the end of summer.

Another megawatt of PV panels is slated to go up on the rest of the UH parking structure in summer 2020.

“This is completely emission free and provides shade, but most importantly, leads by example for the students, faculty and staff, and the greater community,” said Miles Topping, UH director of energy management, in a news release.

During peak use, the UH-Manoa campus uses about 20 megawatts, which is the energy consumption equivalent of about 10,000 to 20,000 residential homes. Depending on future energy costs, the project is expected to save between $2 million to $8 million over its lifetime.

UH is tracking its energy usage and generation via the UH Energy Dashboard.