The St. Joseph River in downtown South Bend will once again generate power, just as it did a century ago for riverside factories.
The University of Notre Dame and the city of South Bend broke ground Monday on a 2.5-megawatt hydroelectric generation facility on the dam that stretches across the river.
The university expects the dam will generate about seven percent of Notre Dame’s electrical needs, which is just one aspect of its sustainability plan that is designed to eliminate the use of coal in the University’s power plant by the end of 2020.
