Regis to be Honored at 2013 World Green Energy Symposium

Regis High School has been selected by the World Green Energy Symposium (WGES) to receive the 2013 NOVA Award. The award will be presented on March 26 during this year's World Green Energy Symposium. Regis is being honored for its efforts to create and sustain a 22,000 square foot green roof, which includes a 22 kilowatt solar panel array, a platform for astronomical observation, and an apiary for bees.

When installation was completed in 2010, Regis became one of only a handful of schools to own and maintain a green roof made of vegetation and native grasses. "It was an economically and environmentally good thing to do," says Rev. Philip G. Judge, S.J., President of Regis. The green roof cleans and cools the air, absorbs storm water, and increases biodiversity for the New York City insect and bird populations. In addition to having an environmental impact on its surroundings, the roof also serves as a laboratory for environmental and scientific experiments.

Since the installation in 2010, Regis has explored additional opportunities to become more sustainable. Just last year, Regis completed an entire retrofit of all light fixtures throughout the school, replacing more than 2,500 fluorescent lights with high-efficiency, long-lasting LED tube lights. The retrofit has reduced energy usage by approximately 116,000 kilowatt hours per year and provided a carbon footprint reduction of almost 120,000 pounds per year. "The Regis community prides itself on fostering a spirit of generosity and service. Implementing green energy alternatives and increasing our efforts to become more green has been an obvious decision for the betterment of our community," said Judge.

The WGES NOVA Award is presented annually to people or organizations who have made outstanding contributions in the area of new and green energy alternatives and/or sustainable innovations in existing energy technologies. Past recipients of this prestigious award have included Philadelphia's Mayor Michael Nutter and the City of Philadelphia for its "GreenWorks Program", Drexel University for its "Smart House", and Dow for its innovations in cost effective technologies in reducing energy in today's buildings.

The 2013 World Green Energy Symposium (WGES) will be held March 26, 2013 at Hunter College. Members of the Regis community who are interested in attending should use discount code NY13 for a reduced registration fee. For more information about the symposium itself, please visit www.worldgreenenergysymposium.us.