Faith Communities Install Solar Panels

In case you hadn't noticed yet, we've got a "People of Faith for the Environment" group now thriving on Climate Crossroads. We just blogged about this cool issue over there and encourage you to join the group to read and contribute!

Solar City gave us a heads up on this, and I definitely think it's worth showing off. Reminds me again of some of the stories in our "Faith in Action" report.

Anyway, Solar City and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno (CA) will unveil the church's brand new solar array on Sunday, March 28th. We've included some photos of the array here.

From the press release:

Solar City installed the highly visible 35-kilowatt array on the roof and grounds of the church, which was the first project of any kind to be certified by the Fresno Green Building Incentive Program.

"The church helped us write the regulations for the incentive program," said its manager, Karana Hattersley-Drayton. "It is a real pioneer."

The dedication ceremony will include a blessing by the Rev. Bryan Jessup. Built with sustainable materials and technologies, the church is a Green Sanctuary, a Unitarian Universalist congregation that "lives out its commitment to the earth by creating a sustainable lifestyle for its members as individuals and as a faith community."

The church's solar installation is expected to offset more than 71,000 pounds of carbon dioxide in its first year, the equivalent of taking roughly 51,330 cars off the road for a year. Over its first year of operation, the installation will save the energy efficient church roughly $15,500 in PG&E utility bills and provide ongoing protection against rising electricity rates.

This isn't the first array at a religious facility that Solar City has helped out with. Earlier this week they helped unveil another set of solar panels on the Our Savior Lutheran Ministries Church in Livermore, California.

How 'bout it - does your faith group have solar panels on its facility?