Rieth-Riley is the lead contractor on a new project to activate a 2.5-megawatt hydroelectric generating plant which has been under construction below Seitz Park since August 2019. Rieth-Riley estimates that the completion of this project will take place between late 2021 and early 2022.
The purpose of this plant is to take water from St. Joseph River, located at Seitz Park’s south end, and channel it into 10 different hydro turbines located north of the dam.
The end goal of this project is to provide the University of Notre Dame (who built the plant) with a more consistent source of power. Paul Kempf, the assistant vice president of utilities and maintenance at the University of Notre Dame, said that once the plant is open, it should “produce enough electricity to supply about 7% of the university’s needs on a more consistent basis than other forms of renewable energy”.
