San Antonio Snares $3.7 Million in Solar Grants

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro has announced that the city has received $3.7 million in federal stimulus funds for solar panels at three locations. The solar panels will be located on buildings at the University of Texas at San Antonio and St. Philip’s College, as well as the city’s Mission Verde Center at Cooper.

The three sites are expected to generate 600 kilowatts, nearly tripling the city’s large-scale solar-generation capacity. Currently, the city’s only large-scale solar-energy sources are the Pearl Brewery and a solar landfill cover at Republic Services Inc., a waste-management company.

Castro hailed the grants, saying they will enable the city to make a “big step forward for sustainability.”

The grants were awarded through the Texas State Energy Conservation Office, with UTSA, St. Philip’s, and the city each filing separate grant applications.