GROUND BREAKING… Wednesday for I&M’s Watervliet Solar Power Plant. Pictured (from the left): Paul Chodak, I&M President and COO: Bill Smith, Berrien County Commissioner; Robert Jackson, Director – Regional/National Response Division of the Michigan Agency for Energy; Mike Koralewski, Senior Vice President, Global Manufacturing, First Solar.
I&M breaks ground on Michigan Solar Power Plant
Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), an operating unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), held a groundbreaking ceremony today for its first solar power plant in Michigan, on a 35-acre site just east of Watervliet. The Watervliet Solar Power Plant will have more than 50,000 solar panels and generate up to 4.6 megawatts of emission-free energy. The facility is expected to generate energy equivalent to powering about 650 homes annually. “I&M is pleased to add solar power to our fleet of emission-free generation sources in Michigan,” said Paul Chodak III, President and Chief Operating Officer of I&M. “Four decades after our Cook Nuclear Plant began generating carbon-free energy in Michigan, this solar power plant is part of a pilot project that will play a significant role in I&M’s use of the sun to provide energy. I&M already uses wind, water and nuclear energy to generate half of our power, and solar is yet another emission-free energy source.” “I&M wishes to thank the Watervliet community for welcoming us,” Chodak said. “Growing solar energy and harvesting the sun in the same manner that this land was once used to harvest crops is an innovative use of the property.” The Watervliet plant is one of four solar power generation plants in I&M’s Clean Energy Solar Pilot Project. The Deer Creek plant near Marion, Ind., has been operational since late in 2015. Construction has already begun at the Twin Branch and Olive plants, both in St. Joseph County, Indiana. All three of the Michiana solar plants will be generating energy for customers by the end of 2016. Together, the four plants will have the capacity to generate about 15 megawatts of energy and have the ability to power the equivalent of 2,000 homes. I&M will build upon the experience in generating solar energy and plants’ interconnection with the electric grid as the company looks to build additional solar plants in the future. I&M contracted with First Solar Inc., a global leader in photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions, to build the three Michiana area plants.
Museum to host free children’s program, “The Evolution of Music” on June 15
The North Berrien Historical Museum invites children ages 6-12 and their families to a summer activity day program about the history of music in Southwest Michigan on Wednesday, June 15, 12 p.m.-2 p.m. Participants will explore how Native Americans in our area used music in their daily lives in rituals and festivals, and then create your own drum and participate in a drum song. Everyone will also learn how the earliest residents of North Berrien enjoyed music and the games they played through the early 1800s, looking at instruments from the museum’s collection. We’ll also imagine what it was like to visit Paw Paw Lake’s fine dance halls, and listen to the music visitors would have danced to. Finally, we will discover how the radio influenced how we listened to music through the 20th century to today, taking a look at vintage radios and other artifacts from our “WSJM and the History of Radio” exhibit with a fun scavenger hunt. This is a free program, designed for kids ages 6-12. No RSVP required. For questions, contact the Director of Programs at (269) 468-3330 or by email at chelsea@northberrienhistory.org.
Father’s Day Breakfast Buffet June 19
On Sunday, June 19, 2016, 9 a.m.-12 noon, the Coloma Legion Auxiliary will be having a Father’s Day Breakfast Buffet Fundraiser at the Coloma American Legion Post #362, 6505 Red Arrow Hwy, Coloma. The cost is $7 for adults, kids age 3-8 $3.50 and kids under 2 eat free.
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