DELANO, Calif. - Solar fields will be fully activated and used to create electricity for five prisons on Monday.

An announcement of the solar fields decision and a tour of the solar field at the North Kern State Prison will occur on Monday, Oct. 22. at 11:30 a.m.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials and representatives from Sun Edison Corp., Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and Southern California Edison announced this new addition on Thursday.

Constructed and financed without tax dollars by Sun Edison Corp., the five solar fields generate 14 megawatts of power for the prisons, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by one billion pounds over the next 20 years and saving taxpayers $45 million in energy costs.

The solar fields are part of CDCR's "Going Green Initiative" that recycles material, conserves water and improves energy efficiency in all 33 California prisons.