Indiana Michigan Power plays an important role in creating a sustainable future for the communities where our customers and employees live, work and play. I&M and American Electric Power are leading by example using the power of technology, innovation and our natural resources to reduce its environmental impact. That effort is now being recognized by one of I&M’s customer and community partner – the University of Notre Dame. 

On Dec. 9, I&M was awarded the “Procurement Partner Sustainability Award” from the Procurement Services and the Office of Sustainability at Notre Dame as the two worked together to make the St. Joseph Solar Farm come to life. The distinguished recognition is given to a supplier that has helped the University make progress toward its strategic sustainability goals through providing new and/or innovative products or services.

"It’s an honor to present Indiana Michigan Power with this award. The St. Joseph Solar Farm not only provides clean energy options for our area, it also creates education opportunities for our students and helps further the University in our sustainability goals,” said Shannon Cullinan, executive vice president of Notre Dame.

In 2020, I&M and the University entered a partnership to create the St. Joseph Solar Farm near South Bend, Ind. The 20-megawatt solar farm sits near the intersection of Bittersweet Rd. and Cleveland Rd., just south of the highly traveled Indiana Toll Road. It provides enough clean energy to power more than 2,700 homes annually and avoids more than 13,000 tons of carbon emissions, which is the equivalent of removing 2,600 cars off the road.

“At Indiana Michigan Power we are redefining the future of energy and working on forward-thinking solutions to provide clean, safe reliable energy to the communities we serve,” said Steve Baker, president and chief operating officer at I&M. “The St. Joseph Solar Farm is a highly visible demonstration to our commitment to transform our generation fleet. We thank the University of Notre Dame for stepping up and being the first I&M customer to partner with us on a project of this scale for our community.”

The facility is the fifth and largest solar facility for I&M. A “flip-the-switch” ceremony was held in May of 2021 to symbolize the facility generating clean energy. It took more than 100 workers more than 75,000 working hours to build.

“The St. Joseph Solar Farm is just a continuation of the partnership between Notre Dame and Indiana Michigan Power. The facility will also provide education and research opportunities for students and the community,” said Paul Kempf, the university’s assistant vice president of utilities and maintenance. “The use of the nearly 58,000 solar panels at the facility is one of many projects in Notre Dame’s long-range plan to become carbon neutral by 2050.”

Notre Dame has agreed to take 40 percent of the carbon offsets created by the St. Joseph Solar Farm. The facility will offset carbon emissions for Notre Dame equal to approximately 10 percent of the total campus electrical demand.

Indiana Michigan Power’s diverse sources of clean energy include not only solar, but also wind, hydropower and nuclear energy. In 2020, 85 percent of I&M’s energy mix was emission-free. American Electric Power, seeks to reduce its total carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2030 and become net neutral by 2050.