Ann Arbor, Michigan, officials voted to use the largest portion of the city’s $24 million federal stimulus money to place solar panels on as many as 18 municipal buildings.

When completed, the project should generate 4 MW of electricity, enough to power 550 houses, said Missy Stults, Ann Arbor’s sustainability and innovation director.

City council voted 10-1 this week to use $4.5 million of the $24 million in federal monies for the solar project.

Stults said the initial designs for the solar panel projects are competed and that she is working on final pricing.  Stults said she plans to present the council with a proposed contract at its May 2 meeting, break ground on construction in June and have all the projects completed by winter.

At least 17 buildings will get solar panels, Stults said, though she hoped pricing would allow 18 to get the panels. Ironically, one building that will not get the panels is Ann Arbor’s City Hall, though panels will go on a nearby parking garage. “We have a crowded roof,” Stults said.

Panels will be installed on every major park facility, the city’s water and sewage treatment plants and at its airport. All the buildings will still have utility hookups.

Stults also said decisions are being made on locating EV chargers at the sites.  One building that will likely get EV chargers is the downtown farmer’s market, which is an open space with a roof structure.

A spokesperson for the Michigan Municipal League said the organization is encouraging communities to include sustainability projects in their projected spending of federal funds, but he did not know whether any other city in the state had plans for projects.