Goshen College in Goshen, Ind., is installing a 924-panel solar array—the first solar panels on campus—which will make the Church-Chapel building on campus fully powered by renewable energy.

The college says the panels are being installed on the roof of the college’s Rec-Fitness Center and will provide 277 kilowatts of power. The solar energy collected will offset the Church-Chapel building’s electric bill; the costs of the panels will be fully recovered in about a decade.

College officials see the array college as an important step toward a greener footprint.

“It’s something we’ve wanted to do for some time,” says Glenn Gilbert, director of facilities at the college.

The installation is a project of Goshen College, a Mennonite-affiliated institution, and College Mennonite Church, which jointly own the Church-Chapel building.

“In addition to saving both institutions tens of thousands of dollars annually for years to come, this project is a testament to deep shared values.” said David Lapp Jost, a 2011 Goshen graduate and church member who spearheaded fundraising for the project.