SOUTH BEND – City shows off rooftop solar array as one of the signature components of a $5 million energy-efficiency makeover at the Century Center in South Bend is complete. The rooftop solar installation includes 90 panels and is part of efforts to reduce operational expenses at the downtown convention center.

Officials say other measures include retrofitting heating, cooling and lighting technology to save energy and money over the next 15 years. South Bend received matching funding last year from the from the Indiana Association for Community Economic Development's Solar Uniting Neighbors program.

The city has made strides on several other initiatives to, as Mayor Pete Buttigieg said, “ensure a greener, cleaner, and more sustainable city.” One is the city's five-year plan to covert its bus fleet to compressed natural gas. In March, a $5.4 million CNG filling station opened in downtown South Bend. Plans also call for 80 city fleet vehicles to be powered by biofuel.