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Associated Press - July 10, 2009 2:45 PM ET

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Home and business owners in Albuquerque could afford to install solar energy panels under a proposed $5 million city loan program.

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez said Friday the plan would make solar panels affordable through a combination of federal and state tax credits and short- and long-term loans to property owners.

He hopes the financial system will allow solar energy to be used in up to 500 homes within a year.

Chavez says energy savings would enable homeowners to repay the loans.

If the City Council approves the plan, Chavez says Albuquerque would become the fourth U.S. city to have such a system, after Berkeley and Palm Desert in California and Boulder, Colo.