Churches go solar, putting creation care into action

Key points:

• At least four churches in Georgia are hooking up to solar power, helped by a nonprofit organization that guides them in setting it up with no upfront costs.
• The Rev. Jay Horton of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light makes a case for solar power as a win-win, improving the finances of churches while shrinking their carbon footprint.
• Chamblee First United Methodist Church in Chamblee, Georgia, reports that it has already saved $40,000 after going solar last spring.

One of the perks Dunwoody United Methodist Church leaders get with the addition of solar power is the ability to see energy produced and carbon reduced in real time on the internet.

“It’s fun to monitor,” said Anne Hicks, chair of the sustainability committee for the church, located in Dunwoody, Georgia.

Four Georgia United Methodist churches are in various stages of getting solar panels on their roofs to save money and be kinder to the environment. Others are considering it.

“So Dunwoody United Methodist Church, Chamblee First United Methodist Church, North Decatur United Methodist Church and Neighborhood Church are all United Methodist congregations,” said the Rev. Jay Horton, communications manager for Georgia Interfaith Power and Light.

Georgia Interfaith consults churches — United Methodist and other denominations — helping them find “practical climate solutions,” said Horton, a United Methodist deacon. The nonprofit helps churches conserve energy in their buildings, reduce waste and more. 

“We also advocate on issues related to climate change, environmental justice and community resilience,” Horton said.

He makes a case for solar power as a win-win, improving the finances of churches while shrinking their carbon footprint.

“We do low-cost energy assessments to congregations to see if solar is feasible, and then we act like the liaison between congregations and vetted solar installers,” Horton said. “(Churches) have absolutely no up-front costs.”

In Dunwoody’s case, the solar company is Sunpath Solar, based in Atlanta.

“There’s a lot of myths about solar, but it’s very, very easy to maintain,” Hicks said. “If a piece of equipment breaks, Sunpath will fix it. But otherwise, you just clean the panels once a year. It’s not inconvenient to have solar.”

Dunwoody saved $15,000 in its first year of solar operations, Hicks added.

A participating church is responsible for any utility costs not offset by the solar system, including connection fees and energy used beyond the system’s production, Horton said.

“There is also a monthly cost the church pays for the energy produced by the solar system,” Horton said. “This is usually less than what they were paying for power elsewhere.”

At Oconee Street United Methodist Church in Athens, Georgia, installation hasn’t started yet.

Solar power fits with the desire of the people at Oconee to be socially active, said its pastor, the Rev. Miki Chastain.

“We’re involved with vulnerable communities here locally, so for us (energy use) is a justice issue,” Chastain said. “If we’re going to be credible … then we’ve got to start looking at how we’re consuming natural resources and what we’re doing to the air.”

The approaching deadline of a President Biden-era tax break made it prudent to get going on the project quickly.

The tax credits for wind and solar projects under Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which became law in 2022, were designed to last into the 2030s. But under the Trump administration, the timeline was cut. To be eligible now, construction must have started by July 5 of this year or be operational before Jan. 1, 2028.

“We’ve seen about a 50% increase in solar installations,” Horton said. “A lot of this came out of the Inflation Reduction Act funding from the Biden administration.

“We’re excited to keep full steam ahead and (to be) helping congregations pay less for their utility bills, care better for the environment and invest more in their community.”

Chastain said Oconee Street United Methodist took the plunge while the credits were still available.

“We needed to do this now before the opportunity passes us by,” she said.

At Chamblee First United Methodist Church in Chamblee, Georgia, the Rev. Blair Zant said the church has already saved $40,000 after going solar last spring.

“(Georgia Interfaith Power and Light) was able to guide us through the various options, as well as the grants and monies available federally, that would make it feasible for a church like us to consider either purchasing a system or leasing a system,” Zant said.

The most popular finance model so far is leasing the panels and equipment from a company like Sunpath.

“There was an option to get an interest-free loan and buy (the solar equipment and panels) outright, but we went with the arrangement where we’re leasing,” Chastain said.

“It’s a 25-year lease,” she said. “They maintain them, and it includes a one-time roof replacement. They’ll come take (the solar panels) off and put them back on for us when we need to replace our roof in a few years.”

Some at Chamblee questioned whether solar panels would look unattractive on the roof of the church, Zant said.

“We bumped up against an ordinance in our community, which had to do with putting things on the roof of our building that neighbors could see and might object to,” she said. “But our city prioritizes green projects, so one of our councilmen … was able to take up the cause and move us really quickly through that process.”

Installed, most people like the way the solar panels on the church roof look, Zant said.

“What a statement it makes to anyone driving by or anyone in the neighborhood that there’s such a visual sign of creation care right here in Chamblee,” she said. “I love the look. But it’s the meaning behind what I see that appeals to me so much.”

Hicks is helping to make solar happen at churches outside her state, working nationally with the United Methodist solar advocacy team that’s part of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement.

“It’s the fastest way to reduce your carbon footprint if you’re looking at the data,” she said. “We started composting about a year ago, but it’s not nearly as much of a carbon reduction as solar.”

Jim Patterson is reporter for UM News. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.