UIW Awarded Grant for rooftop Solar Panel Project

National Group award to be used for Library project at UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine

San Antonio – July 15, 2024 – The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is proud to announce that it is one of just five institutions internationally who have been awarded a grant by EBSCO Information Services. The grant funds will be used to install rooftop solar panels on the library at the UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine located at Brooks on San Antonio’s southeast side.

For the ninth consecutive year, EBSCO accepted applications for grants to fund solar installations from libraries around the world. Committed to decreasing its carbon footprint, EBSCO has awarded libraries more than $2 million in grants since 2015. Each of the 2024 EBSCO Solar recipients plans to utilize grant funding to offset the costs of solar panel installation and reduce their electricity expenditures.

This array is a vital step forward for UIW’s sustainability efforts,” says Dr. Benjamin Miele, chair of the UIW Sustainability Advisory Board. “We already have solar panels on the UIW Solar House, now in order to keep our rising energy bills within reason, educate our students by example, and be leaders in our community, we look forward to more opportunities to install even more renewable energy across UIW’s campuses. This installation is estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 354 metric tons annually.”

Miele credits this project to the work started by Daniel Potter and Dr. Okan Caglayan, who have been researching solar photovoltaics for some time now. Miele says, Potter coined the phrase “Project Helios” to describe the ongoing UIW student research projects on solar power. This upcoming solar project is being named “Project Helios” in a nod to Potter’s work.

“We chose the UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine Library because it is at the medical campus, and renewable energy factors into broader conversations about community health and environmental justice,” adds Miele. “We will showcase the positive impacts of solar energy to communities in south-side San Antonio by reframing climate solutions as opportunities to invest in public health. Equally important, UIW has committed to the Laudato Si Action Platform, an initiative that responds to Pope Francis’s 2015 letter titled Laudato Si, a call to climate action. Combined with our new composting initiative in the UIW dining hall at the Broadway campus, this solar project is perhaps the most significant action UIW can take to become more sustainable.”

This year’s recipients were chosen from hundreds of applicants from around the world. Each applicant showcased their library’s unique attributes, the impact they make in their respective communities and shared that, although the EBSCO Solar grant would aid in solar panel installation and offsetting the cost of electricity, it was one of many green initiatives already in place within their library or university.

According to the organization, EBSCO Information Services is a leading provider of online research content and search technologies serving academic, school and public libraries; healthcare and medical institutions; corporations; and government agencies around the world. From research, acquisition management, subscription services and discovery to clinical decision support and patient care, learning, and research development, EBSCO provide institutions with access to content and resources to serve the information and workflow needs of their users and organizations.

This year, EBSCO awarded a total of $300,000 in solar grants. In addition to UIW, libraries in Michigan, Illinois, Arkansas and Mexico received funds for their respective solar panel projects. UIW’s “Project Helios” is expected to take one year to complete.