This past week, Franklin and Marshall was honored for its participation in the Keystone Solar Project that will be built in Drumore Township, Lancaster County. The college is the first retail customer to commit to buying solar renewable energy credits from a solar project prior to its construction, helping to make the 6 MWH project a reality.
This particular award was exciting because it got those individuals who are invested in green community excited about the growing impact F&M is having on the project. We had an existing partnership with the Keystone Solar Project, and partnered with them with wind development. Since the partnership began in 2002, F&M has been buying wind energy for years now.
When the issue of solar energy first came up, the organization asked F&M if we were interested in being solar. Community Energy agreed to come and speak in classes and wanted to work with our faculty, where they could do field trips to where the solar rays are and be involved in the development of the project and allow the student body to track progress. Green energy is integral to our future at F&M in reducing our carbon impact and creating opportunities for the local community. Currently, the college is trying to apply for a grant for solar ray on one or two of our buildings and is still finding ways to go green.
Sustainability on campus was a grass roots movement and now it is mainstream and still growing. This relationship has benefited students as well, as the company looks for graduates with strong research backgrounds and energy studies backgrounds, particularly those involved in the EAA. The college has even installed solar ray and water conservation projects in the sustainability house for those students who want to commit themselves to an environmentally conservative lifestyle.
Want to see more green energy around campus? The Wohlsen Center has created a green campus map. You can walk campus and see all the green projects that have been on campus. All buildings since 2007 have met silver standards, including green roofs on Schnader, Weis and the Wohlsen Center. F&M has integrated eco-friendliness into classes as well, with more enivronmental and sustainability classes, including studying effectiveness of plants.
New technology evolving in the industry means more opportunities for F&M students. Ideally, the goal is to make it so that we see true monetary savings for more green projects.