The new K-9 school on 32nd Street in Okotoks will be leading the way in green energy.

Foothills School Division has been approved for $750,000 from the provincial government for solar technology projects.

Drew Chipman, assistant superintendent, says the funding covers the entire cost of the project.

"The solar panels, the design, energy assessment, modelling, installation, reporting costs, web site costs, all those types of things are included in that number so we'll be working with Alberta Infrastructure because it's an infrastructure managed project."

The panels will be used as an educational component at the school.

"That's part of the requirements that we review those costs and share those with students and with the community and we can use them when doing instructions," Chipman says. "Certainly there's a lot of different areas of instruction that would benefit, math, science, all those pieces come into play."

It's too early to tell what the design of the panels will look like but the division will work with electrical consultants and architects to make sure they're put in the right place and don't take away from the aesthetics of the school.

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