SPAIN: More than 1,400 square meters of solar panels installed at the Salesian College of Puertollano
SPAIN
(MissionNewswire) On Jan. 17, the Salesian College of Puertollano had new solar panels installed on the roofs of the pavilions of the vocational and secondary education centers. More than 1,400 square meters of solar panels were installed at the Salesian College to improve the environment, enhance educational awareness, and achieve sustainability and energy efficiency.
An inaugural event to highlight the new solar panels was attended by the authorities of the Municipality of Puertollano in Ciudad Real, including Noelia Caballero Romero, councilor for the environment, and Jesús Buendía, councilor for sport and works. Salesian Father Fernando García Sánchez, coordinator of the schools of the province and recently appointed next provincial of the St James Major Province, was in attendance along with the director of the Salesians of Puertollano, Father Ernesto Rodríguez-Arias Izard, and many other prominent figures.
Salesian missionaries utilized the company POWEN to install the solar panels. During the public ceremony, a POWEN representative highlighted the importance of the work done and thanked the Salesians for their contribution to the community and students. The POWEN representative noted that they are pleased the Salesian College is a national reference point in energy efficiency for the educational field.
“As the world faces growing environmental degradation and climate change challenges, there is a need to embrace sustainable development more than ever before,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Many Salesian centers and institutions around the globe are exploring ways to utilize renewable energy both to cut costs for the schools and to help do their part for the environment.”
Salesian missionaries in Spain were inspired to move in this direction in part from Pope Francis’s message on the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation 2019. Pope Francis warned, “Too many are seeking domination on Creation. Let us choose to change, to take on simpler and more respectful lifestyles! It is time to abandon the dependence on fossil fuels and to undertake, rapidly and decisively, transitions towards forms of clean energy and a sustainable and circular economy.”
Close to 37 percent of young Spanish workers under the age of 25 are unemployed and a growing number of them can’t afford to buy enough food to live. Poor youth with few employable skills struggle the most to find and retain stable employment. Women in Spain face inequality in the workforce. They earn up to 14 percent less than men and represent only 34.5 percent of those listed as the highest earners in Spain.
Salesian missionaries have been working for many years to provide educational and workforce development opportunities for poor youth and women in Spain through residential and technical and vocational training programs.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
Salesian Missions – Spain
World Bank – Spain
