With the help of three separate construction businesses — G.V. Enterprises, CORE Construction and Orcutt-Winslow — the Buckeye School District in Arizona’s southwest valley will install solar panels atop six schools and the District office. With a total cost of $20 million, the Arizona solar panel installations have the potential to account for 80 percent of the district’s total energy needs, according to AZCentral.

The three companies will piece together a federal tax credit and a grant from the Arizona Public Service to fund the project. However much is outstanding after incentives, the companies will pay out of pocket.

The Buckeye school board voted in favor of the measure last week, and construction of the systems is set to begin in September or October. If all goes according to plan, the schools and district office should be solar-powered by March 2011.

A major reason for the measure’s approval is that it will cost tax payers absolutely nothing. The three businesses will fund the upfront cost of Buckeye School District’s transition to solar energy. In return, they will be paid back over time, but no agreement has been made as to how that is going to take place.