The Maryland Transit Administration awarded Pepco Energy Services Inc. a 15-year, $6.2 million contract to help reduce the agency’s energy will install a roof-mounted solar photovoltaic array at its Northwest Bus Division.

Pepco will install lighting retrofits, occupancy sensors and control panels to reduce the MTA’s use of artificial light. The efforts are expected to save the MTA more than $560,000 per year, or an estimated $8.4 million over the contract term.

The array will consist of 2,288 Sharp solar power modules. Each panel is rated at 235 watts. The system, all together, will produce 638,000 kilowatts of power each year, said Pepco spokesman Scott Brown.

“The Maryland Transit Administration constantly looks for ways to maximize energy efficiency in all of our operations,” MTA CEO Ralign T. Wells said in a statement.

The comprehensive updates and green improvements will impact more than 1 million square feet at various Maryland Transit Authority properties, according to a press release on the project. Projects identified for the improvements include local bus, metro subway, light rail and MARC facilities, according to the release.

The construction is already underway. It started in January and is expected to be completed by August of this year, according to the release.

The deal comes on the heels of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s State of the State address Feb. 3, in which O’Malley emphasized green initiatives as part of his plan to rebuild the state’s economy.

The energy saving measures, upgrades and improvements combined with the solar photovoltaic installation are expected to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of the Transit Authority by more than 2,800 metric tons annually and will decrease energy costs by about 13 percent, according to the release.

Pepco (POM) is excited to be working with the Maryland Transit Authority on this large-scale project that is expected to have significant energy-saving impacts, spokesman Brown said.