GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A new solar array that will power all of Grand Rapids’ municipal buildings, traffic signals and streetlights during the daytime is expected to be operational by the end of 2027, city officials say.

Construction is expected to begin next year on the infrastructure that will connect the city’s power grid to the new solar panels being planned for Grand Rapids’ southwest side, said Mike Staal, project manager for the city’s engineering department, on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

The solar array is going to be installed at the former Butterworth Landfill site , a nearly 190-acre landfill that shut down in 1973 and is located about 10 minutes southwest from downtown.

The two-megawatt array will generate enough electricity to power the city’s 18,000 streetlights, traffic signals an

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