Ƶ University to Implement Lighting the Future Initiative with Grant Support from West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund
Ƶ University has received a $43,000 grant from the to begin implementation of the university’s three-year Lighting the Future program. This sustainable energy and education program will significantly reduce energy consumption while educating Ƶ students on how these technologies can benefit the environment.
“Ƶ University is committed to sustainability through a number of initiatives on our campus and this grant from the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund will help us both reduce our energy consumption and offer additional educational opportunities for our students,” said Ƶ President Mary Finger. “We are grateful for this support as we continue to look for ways to be better stewards of the earth as part of our Laudato Si’ Action Platform that the university has developed in response to Pope Francis’ call to care for our common home.”
Ƶ currently has 200 large outdoor lights with incandescent bulbs that illuminate the campus to protect the safety of its students, faculty, staff, visitors, and community. Through the “Lighting the Future” program, Ƶ will replace all 200 fixtures to allow for the transition to LED lighting. The initiative will also demonstrate the impact this transition will have on Ƶ’s campus environment (particularly wildlife) through coursework and workshops.
Support from the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund will help defray the $278,535 cost of the three-year project. Once completed, the project has the potential to save 1,881.3 KWH per day or 686,674.50 KWH per year – equal to the yearly consumption of about 65 homes.
In 2022, Ƶ University initiated the “President’s Task Force for Sustainability” to create both short-term and long-term goals for environmental sustainability on the Ƶ campus, thereby officially making environmental sustainability a priority moving forward.
The West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund (WPPSEF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that invests in the deployment of sustainable energy technologies that benefit West Penn Power ratepayers in Pennsylvania. WPPSEF investments are focused in three broad categories:
- Deployment of sustainable and clean energy technologies;
- Deployment of energy efficiency and conservation technologies; and
- Facilitating economic development, environmental betterment, and public education as they relate to sustainable energy deployment in the WPP service region.
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