St. Philip's College News May 8, 2023 OCI Solar Power LLC is building the solar energy workforce of tomorrow, right in the heart of St. Philip's College Southwest Campus. Representatives from OCI Solar Power, St. Philip's College, Project QUEST and the San Antonio Area Foundation gathered inside Building 1 of St. Philip's College Southwest Campus on May 4 to announce the creation of SolarJobs SA - an education and workforce initiative to help prepare students for renewable energy careers. "There's an energy transition happening in this country. We're just so fortunate to be a part of it," said Timothy Heinle, VP of Business Development at OCI Solar Power, in a statement. OCI Solar Power has contributed $500,000 to the SolarJobs SA scholarship fund, of which $400,000 will go directly toward St. Philip's College's Power Generation and Alternative Energy program, according to Leslie Garza-Wright, marketing and communications manager at OCI Solar Power. The remaining $100,000 will go toward student wraparound services supplied by Project QUEST, including housing and utility assistance, online connectivity, child care, a job bank with solar opportunities, and resume and interview assistance to help students secure a career in the industry. There are eight students currently enrolled in the Power Generation and Alternative Energy program. With OCI Solar Power's support, St. Philip's College has been able to increase its offerings from one to two solar-related associate's degrees and from two to six solar-related certifications. St. Philip's College is the only training center certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners in South Texas. Dr. Adena Williams Loston, president of St. Philip's College, said OCI Solar Power's donation will have an "exponential multiplier effect" on students, their families and the workforce as a whole. "It's not just this dollar, because when you're talking about generational impacts, its ... one-hundred times the benefit that they're going to cause in their families and then also in the workforce," Loston said. "So, understand the significance of your contributions .. We don't take it lightly." The San Antonio Area Foundation will manage the SolarJobs SA fund, according to OCI Solar Power. The creation of SolarJobs SA coincides with Texas' burgeoning solar industry. Over the next five years, Texas is expected to outrank all other states for solar installation, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. OCI Solar Power, headquartered in San Antonio, was the first company to develop utility-scale solar projects in Texas, according to its website. Over the last 10 years, OCI Solar Power has built more than 1 gigawatt of solar projects across Texas, Georgia, and New Jersey, and has more than 2 GW of solar, including a 100 MW battery energy storage system, under development. Through its partnership with CPS Energy, OCI Solar Power has built nine solar projects totaling 500MW throughout Texas. LaTasha Denard Executive Assistant at HBCU Library Alliance<http://hbculibraries.org/> Phone: (678) 210-5801 ext. 102 Web: hbculibraries.org<http://hbculibraries.org/> Email: ldenard@hbculibraries.org<http://mailto:ldenard@hbculibraries.org/> Follow us on our social media: [cid:image001.png@01D98CC0.BA6E98C0] [cid:image002.png@01D98CC0.BA6E98C0] [cid:image003.png@01D98CC0.BA6E98C0] [cid:image004.png@01D98CC0.BA6E98C0] Sandra Phoenix Executive Director at HBCU Library Alliance<http://hbculibraries.org/> Office: (678) 210-5801 ext. 101 Mobile: (404) 702-5854 Web: hbculibraries.org<http://hbculibraries.org/> Email: sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Seek justice, honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. [cid:image005.gif@01D98D53.DDD50EF0]<https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/> [cid:image006.gif@01D98D53.DDD50EF0] <https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance> [cid:image007.png@01D98D53.DDD50EF0] <https://www.instagram.com/hbcu_library_alliance/> [cid:image008.gif@01D98D53.DDD50EF0] <https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/>