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About
Fidelity & ExcellenceThomas Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities, offering a faithfully Catholic education comprised entirely of the Great Books and classroom discussions.
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A Liberating Education
Truth MattersTruth, and nothing less, sets men free; and because truth is both natural and supernatural, the College’s curriculum aims at both natural and divine wisdom.
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A Catholic Life
Under the Light of FaithThe intellectual tradition and moral teachings of the Catholic Church infuse the whole life of Thomas Aquinas College, illuminating the curriculum and the community alike.
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Is TAC Right for You?Do you enjoy grappling with complex questions? Are you willing to engage in discussions about difficult concepts, with the truth as your ultimate goal?
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Mind, Body & SpiritThere is always something to do at TAC — something worthwhile, something fulfilling, and something geared toward ever-greater spiritual and intellectual growth.
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Alumni & Careers
What Can You Do with a Liberal Education?Nothing speaks more to the versatility of the College’s academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
Thomas Aquinas College Achieves Energy Independence, $600K Annual Savings, with Innovative Green Power Plan on California Campus
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SANTA PAULA, CA — A momentous change reflecting years of study and months of work — yet unnoticeable to the students themselves — recently occurred on the California campus of Thomas Aquinas College. With the flip of a switch that didn’t so much as cause the lights to flicker, the campus broke free of the state’s notoriously unreliable power grid.
Thanks to the ingenuity of the wider College community and a unique partnership with the operators of a neighboring oilfield, TAC-California launched an alternative-energy program that has all but eliminated its carbon footprint while saving $600,000 a year. “This energy-management plan and technology portfolio,” says Lawrence Youngblood, director of Brompton Energy, “will put the college on such a high level that will lead other universities throughout the United States.”
Under the terms of a contract with Carbon California, the college receives free natural gas — a byproduct of the firm’s drilling — which it then converts to green energy through Capstone turbines. “We have a good working relationship with the College,” says Jane Farkas, vice president of land and regulatory affairs at Carbon California. “When they approached us about the proposal, we thought it was a good thing to help out our neighbors.”
“According to the Air Quality Management District, the Capstone turbine uses the most recent, best available control technology on the market,” says Mr. Youngblood, who devised the energy independence plan and is the father of two TAC alumni and one current student. “Rather than flaring at high emissions, we can burn gas using that turbine’s efficient combustion technology at much lower emissions.”
To provide an added layer of energy resilience, the college has also acquired a free, high-capacity Tesla battery through California’s 2020 Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). At low-use hours, the battery can charge from the turbine as well as from the grid, then discharge at peak times.
The college spent $4.5 million acquiring the turbine, which — thanks to tax incentives and energy savings — will pay for itself within six years or less, should utility rates continue their decades-long climb. The college is additionally in negotiations with Southern California Edison to sell surplus energy back to the grid, which will result in even greater savings for years to come.
“This school collaborated with its neighbors and with its regulators to find a solution that not only works, but gives back to the wider community,” he Mr. Youngblood. “The college’s example could make it a real driver in innovation at other institutions, just by the way we all brought this mission to life.”
Adds Paul J. O’Reilly, president of Thomas Aquinas College, “As a Catholic institution, we take seriously our duty to shepherd our resources responsibly, work with our neighbors, and be good stewards of Creation. By God’s grace our new energy independence program reflects all these qualities.”
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About Thomas Aquinas College
A four-year, co-educational institution with campuses in California and Massachusetts, Thomas Aquinas College has developed over the past 50 years a solid reputation for academic excellence in the United States and abroad. It is highly ranked by organizations such as The Princeton Review, U. S. News, and Kiplinger. At Thomas Aquinas College all students acquire a broad and fully integrated liberal education. The college offers one, four-year, classical curriculum that spans the major arts and sciences. Instead of reading textbooks, students read the original works of the greatest thinkers in Western civilization — the Great Books — in all the major disciplines: mathematics, natural science, literature, philosophy, and theology. The academic life of the college is conducted under the light of the Catholic faith and flourishes within a close-knit community, supported by a vibrant spiritual life. Graduates consistently excel in the many world-class institutions at which they pursue graduate degrees in fields such as law, medicine, business, theology and education. www.thomasaquinas.edu.