Solar panels to be installed on Mpls convention center roof

The Minneapolis City Council approved a proposal Friday to install solar panels on the roof of the city's convention center.

The city has applied for a $2 million state energy grant to offset the capital costs. The convention center will use a portion of the energy generated by the panels.

Council member Cam Gordon said the installation will be the largest solar panel array in the Midwest. He said he hopes the project will spur more solar installations and bring more green energy businesses to the city.

"It will help give us more experience and more of a track record of putting these things in. We'll have more workers who are trained, and more capacity," said Gordon. "Our hope is we'll end up attracting people to come who'll actually manufacture the solar panels closer to Minneapolis."

The solar panels will be manufactured in California. However the city has chosen a local company to build and maintain the array.

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