Environmental Leader

The Minneapolis Convention Center would get about 5 percent of its power from a 600-kilowatt rooftop solar array that is nearing final approval at City Hall, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

A City Council panel voted on Jan. 21 that Best Power get the project. The full council takes up the matter Jan. 29.

The proposed solar system would have 2,600 panels on the flat portions of the roof, so as to not cover the building’s signature domes.

The deal faces other obstacles, including approval from state regulators to switch over a $2 million renewable energy grant to the city, to help subsidize the deal.

Last summer Minneapolis pulled out of a similar deal for the convention center, over failure to reach agreement on terms with a solar developer.

In 2008, the Atlantic City Convention Center began planning the installation of 13,321 solar panels on 290,000 square feet, or about two-third of its rooftop.

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