New Scholarship Related To Renewable Energy Announced By SUU

Southern Utah University along with rPlus Energies, Sundt and Greenbacker Capital Management have announced the Appaloosa Solar 1 Scholarship. The $120,000 scholarship is specifically for students who currently reside in Iron County, home to the 200-megawatt Appaloosa Solar 1 project.

The Local First Scholarship series will be available exclusively to students residing in counties where rPlus Energies constructs a namesake project. The scholarship series supports students wishing to remain local while pursuing their career goals and assists communities in meeting their workforce needs by providing full and partial tuition scholarships to local university certificate and degree programs. The series launched last year for students residing in Carbon County, where rPlus Energies operates an 80 megawatt facility.

The Local First – Appaloosa Solar 1 Scholarship will provide a total of $120,000 to SUU qualifying students who reside in Iron County, UT and plan to stay local after degree or certificate completion. The applicants can pursue any certificate, associate, or 4-year program.

The Local First– Appaloosa Solar 1 Scholarship program is currently open to Fall 2023 applicants through the MYSUU portal. Students will need to be admitted to SUU to be eligible to apply for the award.

Appaloosa Solar 1 is a 200 MW solar project located in Iron County. The project broke ground in 2022 and is expected to reach commercial operation in early 2024. Greenbacker Capital Management, a leading renewable energy asset manager, owns a majority sponsor position in Appaloosa Solar 1, which is the company’s largest clean energy asset to date. Sundt Construction, with significant experience in Utah -- including the rPlus-developed Graphite Solar Project, is providing engineering, procurement, and construction for Appaloosa Solar 1. rPlus Energies, a subsidiary of the Gardner Group, is the developer and construction manager of Appaloosa Solar 1.

The group is also in the development phase for Appaloosa Solar 2, which will also be located in Iron county. Power generated by Appaloosa Solar 1 will be purchased by Pacificorp.

Located in the world’s best backyard, SUU is the University of the Parks thanks to its close proximity to several outdoor recreational areas and its educational partnerships with the National Park Service. SUU’s safe, residential campus allows students, which now number more than 12,000, to create lifelong friendships along with once-in-a-lifetime outdoor adventures in conjunction with innovative academic endeavors.