BELFAST – The city of Belfast has offset almost 90 percent of its electric costs with the help of solar power.

The Bangor Daily News reports Belfast’s newest 660-kilowatt solar installation went online in December and is estimated to generate about $100,000 in electricity per year.

City Planner Sadie Lloyd Mudge says the city’s other two solar power systems generate about $25,000 worth of electricity per year.

The city spent about $320,000 on oil, gas and electricity for its nine municipal buildings in 2013, a year before the first solar project opened.

With a 14-year payback schedule and a 40-year life expectancy for the solar projects, Lloyd Mudge estimates the city will get about 26 years of free electricity.