Jim Parks with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District says some of the projects are designed to save energy or ease strain on the power grid during the summer.
PARKS: "SMUD purchases power on the open market and so to the extent we can get energy efficiency cheaper than we can purchase power on the market, it's a good deal for us."
SMUD helped Elk Grove Unified and Sacramento City Unified School districts apply for funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
SMUD received $36 million. When a district or agency provides receipts from a project, SMUD then matches that spending with ARRA funds.