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Bladensburg is among nine Prince George's County municipalities that will soon be installing solar panels on their town halls, thanks to federal money.

A total of $1.04 million will be distributed among Bladensburg, Brentwood, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, Forest Heights, Glenarden, Mount Rainier, North Brentwood and Seat Pleasant.

The project initially came out of Bladensburg, with other municipalities signing on. Bladensburg's acting town administrator John Moss said it made the process more efficient and gave the smaller towns a better chance at securing money.

According to the grant proposal, the towns wanted the solar panels so they could lower greenhouse gas emissions, become a model for other towns and save money on energy bills.

"The concept was we wanted to demonstrate and show how government could not only go green but [to] make this efficient," he said.

The money is mostly divided evenly among the municipalities, except for some, such as Brentwood, which asked for extra money for a weatherization project, Moss added.

The solar panels on town halls will serve as "demonstration sites," Moss said.

"We want to show that municipalities our size and our size-governments can have a significant [environmental] impact," he said.

The panels could be installed within four months.

Moss said as part of the program, a portion of the energy savings will be set aside for a fund, "Seeding the Future," that will provide financial assistance to residents going to school for environmentally-friendly and "green" careers.

Cottage City Commission Chair Phyllis Robinson (Ward 3) said the town has not yet identified what it will use the energy savings' money on, but the money could potentially be used to pay for energy conservation workshops for residents.

North Brentwood's town manager Maryanne Anthony said the town is anticipating at least a 10 to 20 percent energy cost savings that could increase as the town gets more experienced with using solar panels.

"We know it's going to be a huge savings," she said.

According to North Brentwood's fiscal 2010 budget, the town hall's electric bill is about $10,000 a year and its gas bill is about $8,500 a year.

The extra money will be used to educate residents, through workshops and distribution of literature, on how they can take advantage of government programs, such as tax credits, to make their homes more energy-efficient, Anthony said.

She added that the solar panels will peak residents' awareness and interest.

"They're going to be asking questions once the solar panels are installed," Anthony said.