Milwaukee Public Museum dedicates solar panel wall

View Photos

Rob Gebelhoff

The new solar panels on the south wall of the Milwaukee Public Museum

Rob Gebelhoff

Reporter- Milwaukee Business Journal

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele joined Milwaukee Public Museum officials Wednesday morning to dedicate the building's newly completed solar panel wall, described as the first of its kind in the Midwest.

"This is a statement," Abele said at the dedication event. "We need to talk about sustainability with all institutions that serve the public. Sustainability is the name of the game."

Abele was joined by MPM president and CEO Dennis Kois, who said the solar panels are part of the museum's efforts to conserve energy. Those efforts have also included the installation of a green roof and the transition to LED lighting throughout the building's exhibits.

The 234 solar panels on the wall are expected to generate about 77,500 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to power nearly 500 60-watt light bulbs for eight hours a day for an entire year.

The project began in July 2013 and was expected to be completed by the end of last year. Structural complications and the bankruptcy of a supplier pushed back the completion until earlier in October.

The panels replaced the 50-year-old marble cladding that covered the south wall of the museum's tower that faces West Wells Street. The heavy marble was weathered and became less stable, so the museum decided it needed a more updated look.

MPM considered using recycled material, but chose the shiny, black panels instead because of their energy-generating potential. It contracted with Milwaukee-based manufacturer Helios USA to develop the panels.

The museum had to close its popular butterfly vivarium during the removal of the marble slabs. It also moved a bronze whistling swan sculpture to make way for the panels and placed it on a nearby west-facing wall, close to the museum's main entrance.