This is National Pollinator Week, which highlights the importance of bees and other pollinators.
St. Joseph Solar Farm near South Bend, Ind.
Pollination occurs when pollen is moved within flowers or carried from flower to flower via animals such as birds, bees, butterflies, moths or the wind. This process leads to fertilization and production for plants.
Our pollinators face several threats including habitat loss, diseases, pollution (including pesticides) and climate change. This is why I&M is actively engaged in protecting, attracting and increasing pollinator species to ensure flowers and plants thrive. Already staples in local communities, our wind and solar farms, D.C. Cook Nuclear Plant and Rockport Plant all serve as pillars supporting pollinators. Each location is home to native plants requiring little or no maintenance while providing numerous ecosystem benefits.
St. Joseph Solar Farm
The St. Joseph Solar Farm located near South Bend, Ind., generates up to 20 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable energy and has since 2021. It also promotes pollinators in-and-around the nearly 58,000 solar panels as more than 60 acres grow each year thanks to a native pollinator habitat seed mix. Flowers such as Lance Leaf Coreopsis, Black Eyed Susan, Partridge Pea, common Milkweed and Monarda have been planted are blooming. The St. Joseph Solar Farm is also home to a colony of bees.
Mottville Hydroelectric Plant
Mottville Hydroelectric Plant in Michigan boasts its own pollinator garden. The area was seeded and planted with live native pollinator habitat plants. The first monitoring session showed a diverse mix of Wild Bergamot, Yellow Sundrops, common milkweed, butterfly milkweed and New England Aster.
D.C. Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman, Mich.
Rockport Plant
An acre of property at the Rockport Plant in southern Indiana is maintained as a “prairie.” This is to protect the Maryland Meadow Beauty – a state endangered flower. The wildflower is native to the eastern and lower midwestern United States, including in Indiana and Michigan. The flower grows naturally on Rockport Plant’s property where it’s protected.
D.C. Cook Nuclear Plant
Native plants are helping the ecosystem near Lake Michigan at the D.C. Cook Nuclear Plant. In Bridgman, Mich., you can spot common milkweed and other prairie plants as you walk the grounds. Cook Plant has reduced the mowed footprint along its sidewalks to encourage more prairie plants and pollinator species to flourish.
AEP continues to explore opportunities to install regionally appropriate native seed mixes that are beneficial to pollinators across the AEP footprint. The use of native vegetation, wherever possible, enables the revegetation to promote biodiversity and pollinator habitat as well as soil stability and a positive impact on maintenance costs. AEP is currently wrapping up studies that evaluate the native seed mixes and how the vegetation responds to standard maintenance activities.
We believe we can deliver reliable electricity while protecting the environment. Learn more about our efforts here.