GRANTHAM, Pa. (May 4, 2006) — As the national debate on rising energy costs heats up, Messiah College has been recognized for actively seeking new forms of sustainable energy.  Messiah College, along with five other Pa. colleges and universities, has been selected to pilot Solar Scholars, an innovative solar energy education program initiated by The Sustainable Energy Fund (SEF) of Central-Eastern Pa. Through this partnership, Messiah College students and faculty from the departments of engineering and biological sciences and the college’s Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research will design, build, operate and maintain a solar system of significant educational and conservational impact to the college’s Grantham campus.  The proposed solar electric system, to be located southeast of Frey Hall academic building, will generate three kilowatts of electricity, which will supplement the college’s power grid and allow for upwards of $10,000 in direct energy savings over the next 25 years.

Design of the solar electric system at Messiah College will begin in September and construction is slated to be complete in May 2007.  SEF will provide funding and resources, including Internet-based academic curriculum, to assist Messiah College in not only developing the solar system but in creating a laboratory-based course on solar and renewable energy.  Purposeful by design, each of the final three arrays will demonstrate different energy conversion and solar tracking technologies.  Power generated by the panels will be able to be metered and monitored by the public on the Internet.

SEF is a non-profit, private organization dedicated to renewable energy, clean energy technologies, energy conservation and education.  Through the Solar Scholars program, SEF hopes Pennsylvania emerges as the national leader in renewable energy generation, education and technology by creating meaningful benefits that support the environment, economic landscape, community energy footprint and quality of life throughout the state and beyond. In addition to Messiah College, Bucknell University, Clarion University, Mercyhurst College, Penn State University and Villanova University were also selected as Solar Scholars through a competitive process.

Solar Scholars will enable Messiah College to extend its more than 10 years of experience pioneering and working with solar power.  Since 1997, the college has won innovation awards for the creation of its solar-powered cars and boats through the Genesis project.  In addition, student organization Dokimoi Ergatai has used solar energy to meet technology needs of some of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged people, particularly in West African regions. 

Messiah College’s Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research brings students and educators together to apply disciplinary knowledge and stewardship commitments through creative, hands-on problem solving in real life settings. Since 1999, students and educators participating in the Collaboratory have put theory to work on projects that empower the poor, promote justice for the oppressed, reconcile adversaries and care for the earth through undertakings such as water purification for rural villages in Guatemala, aviation construction for missions and relief work, mobility solutions for disabled persons in rural West Africa and solar electric and pumping stations for schools in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe. For more information on the Collaboratory, visit www.messiah.edu/schools/math_eng_bus/collaboratory.html. 

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls more than 2,900 undergraduate students in 50 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.