Wilson Receives $25,000 Grant for Energy-Saving Library Lighting

Wilson College has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund to pay for an energy-saving LED lighting system in the college’s renovated John Stewart Memorial Library and new learning commons.

Wilson sought funding for the LED (light-emitting diode) lighting because of its advantages over incandescent lighting, which include: lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, smaller size and faster switching. In addition, Wilson – whose mission includes environmental sustainability – will model best practices in sustainability by using LED lighting, according to college officials.

LED lights will comprise approximately 42 percent of the library’s $85,000 lighting system, while fluorescent lights make up the rest. Projections show that the combined lighting system will use 37 to 40 percent less electrical power than the previous lighting scheme.

“Wilson is grateful to the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund for providing support for energy-efficient lighting in the library,” said Wilson Vice President for Institutional Advancement Camilla Rawleigh. “Partnerships often succeed in accomplishing what one organization alone cannot. We want to express our thanks to the fund for recognizing the importance of this project.”

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.

Visit http://www.wppsef.org for further information.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Margaret Light, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Phone: 717-264-4141, Ext. 3179
Email: margaret.light@wilson.edu
OR
Barbara Robuck
West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund
814-865-7380
wppsef@ems.psu.edu