|
Shown is an artist's rendering of 8minutenergy Renewables' Calipatria I solar farm, a 50-megawatt solar facility expected to be operational before 2017. (COURTESY IMAGE / December 9, 2012) |
Local business and the 28 percent of unemployed residents in the Imperial Valley will not be the only ones to benefit from the renewable and solar energy revolution on the horizon.
High school students across the Valley will also benefit from companies like LS Power and 8minutenergy Renewables, which are beginning projects here.
LS Power, which is the Centinela Solar Energy Facility, awarded scholarship funds to Imperial Valley College and San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus in Calexico, while 8minutenergy has partnered with the Calipatria Unified School District to create a renewable energy vocational program.
Over the next three years, LS Power will award $135,000 in scholarships to Imperial Valley University Partnership students beginning next fall.
IVUP students are dually enrolled at IVC and SDSU-IV, and this scholarship is expected to aid in the payment of full tuition for at least 10 students each year. Qualified students will be eligible for the scholarships for both their freshman and sophomore years.
“We are very pleased to be a major corporate partner of the IVUP,” said John King, executive vice president for LS Power. “We believe that the Imperial Valley University Partnership is an ideal program that allows us to support the community and local students in their pursuit of excellence through higher education right here in the Imperial Valley.”
The company also gave a $50,000 endowment gift to the newly created President’s Scholarship at IVC, which will produce an estimated $2,000 a year.
For two years the scholarship will cover the cost of tuition and fees at IVC for the top-two graduating seniors with the highest grade-point averages from each high school.
“We want all students to know that IVC is a viable option to begin their college careers,” said Todd Evangelist, executive director of IVC Foundation. “With this scholarship money we will be able to help those students who are at the top of their class but may not have the money to study outside of the area.”
At Calipatria Unified, the start of the REV program will give graduates the opportunity to choose college or career.
“We are pleased to partner with the Calipatria Unified School District to develop educational and career opportunities for young people in the solar industry in a region that desperately needs jobs,” said Sam Couchman, director of community relations for 8minutenergy. “We look forward to working with high school graduates in the area to prepare them to share in the bright future solar technology is bringing to the Imperial Valley.”
Staff Writer Karina Lopez can be reached at 760-337-3439 or klopez@ivpressonline.com
To comment on this story click here to be directed to Facebook.
