Posted at: 10/16/2009 5:47 PM

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U of M Takes 5th in Int'l Solar Decathlon

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - University of Minnesota students have taken fifth place in the international Solar Decathlon for their ICON solar house.

The team competed against 19 other teams, which included entries from the United States, Canada, Germany and Spain.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman announced the winners of the fourth biennial competition on Friday.

This year's competition asked students to design a full-featured home powered only by the sun. Teams competed in 10 contests, and the Gophers placed first in best lighting design and best engineering.

The university says in a news release that more than 150 undergraduate and graduate students worked on the solar home, which takes its name from the iconic shape of its gabled roof.

Team Germany came won the competition.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)