Churches go solar 

As solar energy power becomes more mainstream, the faith community has been warmly receptive to renewables energy. From churches to mosques, places of worship have solar panels.
 

Being a good steward to God’s resources

Solar provides two perks to congregations; by costing less in the long run allows faith groups to invest more money to charitable causes. And by cutting back on the use of fossil fuels, it contributes to being a good steward to God’s resources. “We understand creation care not to be ancillary to our ministry, not to be tangential to the work of proclaiming the gospel, but perfectly in the center of what it means to be a Christian,” said Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, national organizer for Young Evangelicals for Climate Action.
 

Faith in Place explained

Faith in Place, a not-for-profit organization affiliated with Interfaith Power & Light, has assisted sustainability of houses of worship in Illinois working with volunteers on energy and climate change, sustainable food and land use, water preservation and advocacy. They’ve placed 14 houses of worship with solar that includes Quakers, Mennonites,  Jewish Reform, Catholic and Presbyterian denominations. Faith in Place is working with Millennium Solar, the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), the Safer Foundation and Blacks in Green (BIG) on a job training program that has people who are returning to society after jail time.  While faith leaders are very interested to reduce pollution, they quickly engage in the financial complexities of government solar incentives based on tax credits and accelerated depreciation. This is where Fellowship Energy comes in. It’s a solar finance company that specializes in faith communities to resolve the financial puzzle. Houses of worship, don’t pay income taxes, so they aren’t eligible for tax credits that apply to income. 
 

Green the Church explained

Green the Church, based in Oakland, California, works with black churches in the U.S. for sustainability, including solar power. For the DOE Solar Challenge, the Rev. Ambrose Carroll educates congregations on the potential for solar energy power. Environmental justice and empowerment are a key attraction to church-goers. Arranging finances to bring solar to low-income people is a struggle. The church  works with RE-volv, a non-profit that uses crowdfunding for solar on community-serving non-profit organizations. When the funds are paid back, they are lent out to other projects, through a revolving loan fund. For the Faith Baptist Church in Oakland, RE-volv got support from 72 donors, including a funding match from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. Carroll sees huge potential among the 1,000 church congregations that Green the Church works with.

Solar power is here to stay, and the sooner you explore how much you can save, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of residential solar power. Go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need, and how much you can save. Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.