City installing solar panels at South Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant

SOUTH BEND — The city will install solar panels at the its wastewater treatment plant on Riverside Drive for use in the water treatment process.

At a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting on Monday, April 7, city officials said the South Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant will install ground-mounted solar energy systems in the front corner of the property that “will provide additional energy resources … critical to this function of the city.”

On Monday, the board granted two variances for the project, allowing the city to install an accessory structure in the site’s front/corner yard and increasing the maximum number of accessory structures from one to 13.

No additional details were given about when installation work will begin, but officials said the tall side of the solar panels will be around 12 feet high.

Email South Bend Tribune staff reporter Rayleigh Deaton at rdeaton@gannett.com.