A solar energy project built by Ecos Energy in a former cornfield outside of Slayton, Minn, began producing power last week, according to a report in the StarTribune. The project consists of 7,040 solar panels arranged in 32 rows with an output capacity of 2 megawatts. The power is being purchased by XCel Energy, which is planning to study how solar energy and intermittent energy from nearby wind farms can complement each other. In Minnesota, twice as much solar capacity was installed in 2012 compared with the prior year, with more than 250 projects of varying sizes coming online, according to the StarTribune report. Read more
