By CINDY LONG

Centre College

For the second consecutive year, Centre College has been chosen to receive a $10,000 grant from Pepsico Recycling’s Zero Impact Fund (ZIF). The funds will be used for the second phase of an installation of photovoltaic panels on the roof of the Chowan Multipurpose Building.

Centre is one of 15 schools selected nationally to receive funding through ZIF, a program now in its second year that’s designed to help bring campus eco-innovations to life.

Phase one of the student-led project was completed in the summer of 2017, and included all of the planning, design and engineering for the full installation. Additional support from Centre’s Student Government Association (SGA), Centre Environmental Association (CEA), the President’s Office, and Centre alumni and friends allowed the project to expand from the planned installation of 15-20 panels with 5 kW of capacity to an array of 60 panels with nearly 20 kW of capacity.

This newest stage of the project is receiving support from SGA and private donations, monies that, added to the second Pepsico grant, have brought the total funds to three-quarters of the amount needed to add another 60 panels, bringing the completed installation to the statutory limit of 30 kW.

Joey Gilbert, director of annual giving, has set up a GiveCampus campaign to encourage friends and alumni to donate toward the remaining $6,400 needed to complete this final phase. While Gilbert says that gifts of any size will make a difference, a $400 contribution will fund the purchase of one panel.