Green Mountain Energy Sun Club Joins Forces With Stroud Water Research Center in the Brandywine Valley

AVONDALE, Pa., October 1, 2024 /3BL/ - Stroud Water Research Center, a nonprofit founded in 1967 dedicated to advancing knowledge and stewardship of freshwater systems through global research, education, and watershed restoration, today announced a $141,000 sustainability grant from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club for a new 55-kilowatt rooftop solar array system.

The solar array is expected to offset 23% of the Stroud Center’s energy needs, avoiding nearly 80,000 pounds of CO₂ each year. Overall, the lifetime energy savings are expected to exceed $125,000, which will empower the organization to expand free educational programming for 5,675 additional low-income students from Pennsylvania public schools over the lifetime of the solar array.

More than 15 million people annually are directly impacted by the Stroud Center’s freshwater research, environmental education, and watershed restoration. Five-thousand students from Pennsylvania participate in programming, and 60% come from Title I schools with federally funded educational assistance. Additionally, the Stroud Center’s LEED-Platinum building serves as an important teaching tool for students to learn the important steps taken to achieve LEED-Platinum status and what they can do in their own homes to minimize their impact.

“We are incredibly grateful for this partnership and $141,000 sustainability grant from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club,” said David Arscott, Ph.D., executive director, president, and research scientist at the Stroud Center. “The energy savings from the solar array will empower us to continually integrate sustainability into our operations every day.”

“We’re thrilled to join forces with Stroud Water Research Center to reduce their environmental footprint and, at the same time, expand their educational outreach programs,” said Andrea Ortega-Toledano, senior director of sustainability, Green Mountain Energy. “We know empowering community with the principles of sustainability ensures future generations remain committed to nurturing our planet.”

Green Mountain Energy’s mission is to inspire hope and motivate action through the use of clean energy, and to advance sustainable communities through Sun Club. Since its founding in 2002, Sun Club has donated more than $14 million for 164 projects across Texas and the Northeast. Green Mountain Energy invites its customers and employees to contribute and help support more projects that promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation, and environmental stewardship.

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About Stroud Water Research Center
For more than 50 years, Stroud Water Research Center has focused on the science of rivers and streams. No one else studies these systems and how to protect them like we do — collaboratively, independently, and across decades of environmental changes. In our mission to advance knowledge and stewardship of freshwater systems through global research, education, and watershed restoration, we produce the trusted science needed for successful stream and river conservation while fostering people’s passion for the water in their lives.

About Green Mountain Energy Sun Club
Green Mountain Energy’s mission is to inspire hope and motivate action through the use of clean energy, and to advance sustainable communities through the work of Green Mountain Energy Sun Club. Since its founding in 2002, Sun Club^® has donated more than $14 million for 164 projects across Texas and the Northeast. Sun Club collaborates with nonprofit organizations on projects that focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation, and environmental stewardship. To learn more about Green Mountain Energy and Sun Club or to apply for a Sun Club grant, visit greenmountain.com/sunclub.

Media Contacts:

Jeanie Davey, Green Mountain Energy
713-537-5735
media@greenmountain.com
X: @GreenMtnEnergy

Diane Huskinson, Stroud Water Research Center
610-910-0048
dhuskinson@stroudcenter.org
X: @StroudCenter