Notre Dame dedicates hydropower plant

The University of Notre Dame on Monday dedicated a new hydroelectric facility on the St. Joseph River in downtown South Bend. Announced in August 2019, the power plant can produce 2.5 megawatts of power for the campus.

ND Hydro has been operational since May and has been running at about 70% of capacity due to water levels.

The new facility operates in conjunction with an existing dam to channel the headwaters towards the ten underwater turbines.

The electricity is transmitted to campus via an underground transmission line.

The facility is buried in the riverbed beneath Seitz Park. The university agreed to contribute $1 million toward the restoration of the park, which was already scheduled for renovations.

The university says the project included more than 6,700 cubic yards of poured and precast concrete, plus 1.1 million pounds of steel.