About the project
The solar panel project is designed to use the free power of the sun that God gives us every day, to replace 85% of the power that we currently purchase from utilities every year. That amounts to over $5,000 per year.
We believe that the solar panels will allow us to practice good stewardship in several ways:
Financial Implications
Implementing this project requires two important initial investments:
This project was designed with the goal of implementation without taking funds out of existing resources or budget lines. Our plan was greatly helped by the work that Jeff and Jerry had done in 2017, as well as consultation with local meteorologist Bob Lindmeier. Bob has been instrumental in the solar project at St. Mark's in Oregon and serves on the Synod Caring for God's Creation Committee. We also received helpful information from Temple Beth El in Madison about their solar energy project.
Panels
Jeff Cherwinka led the committee in producing a successful grant to the Solar For Good Program. This grant supplies the panels free of charge. The balance of costs for installation and ownership of the panels will be paid through a partnership between Jeff's Chox LLC and Legacy Solar Energy Coop. Under this arrangement, Chox will leverage the financial benefits of tax credits from installing renewable energy. Over the next six years, All Saints will repay Chox the balance using energy savings as we go online.
AC Power Supply
This is where we are asking for your help. It will cost approximately $10,000 to install the AC technology to get the power from the panels to our outlets. The Stewardship Committee is raising one-time gifts from among our faith community to finance this important component of the project. In doing so, we are specifically asking that gifts toward this project are made in addition to, not instead of, annual faith pledges that support the ongoing work of our church. If we raise more than is needed for this part of the project, that money will be kept in a solar fund to help repay CHOX for the benefits of renewable energy, helping us to see even larger immediate savings to our budget. To date we have secured:
We are asking all members of our faith community to consider making a one-time gift of any amount toward completion of this project.
We believe that the solar panels will allow us to practice good stewardship in several ways:
- It will bring the amount budgeted for electrical energy to an estimated $525 from around $6,000/year.
- Our electrical utility costs will not be subject to future increases since solar power is free.
- We will be stewarding God's creation by reducing our carbon footprint.
- This project will allow us to learn about, and then teach others, about harnessing free power from the sun.
Financial Implications
Implementing this project requires two important initial investments:
- Purchase and installation of the solar panels
- Purchase and installation of the technology used to get power from the solar panels to our church outlets
This project was designed with the goal of implementation without taking funds out of existing resources or budget lines. Our plan was greatly helped by the work that Jeff and Jerry had done in 2017, as well as consultation with local meteorologist Bob Lindmeier. Bob has been instrumental in the solar project at St. Mark's in Oregon and serves on the Synod Caring for God's Creation Committee. We also received helpful information from Temple Beth El in Madison about their solar energy project.
Panels
Jeff Cherwinka led the committee in producing a successful grant to the Solar For Good Program. This grant supplies the panels free of charge. The balance of costs for installation and ownership of the panels will be paid through a partnership between Jeff's Chox LLC and Legacy Solar Energy Coop. Under this arrangement, Chox will leverage the financial benefits of tax credits from installing renewable energy. Over the next six years, All Saints will repay Chox the balance using energy savings as we go online.
AC Power Supply
This is where we are asking for your help. It will cost approximately $10,000 to install the AC technology to get the power from the panels to our outlets. The Stewardship Committee is raising one-time gifts from among our faith community to finance this important component of the project. In doing so, we are specifically asking that gifts toward this project are made in addition to, not instead of, annual faith pledges that support the ongoing work of our church. If we raise more than is needed for this part of the project, that money will be kept in a solar fund to help repay CHOX for the benefits of renewable energy, helping us to see even larger immediate savings to our budget. To date we have secured:
- A challenge pledge of up to $5,000 that will be used to match other pledges 1:1
- Additional pledges of $2,500, $1,000, and $500, as well as other gifts that have begun to arrive. We will have an update for you next week!
We are asking all members of our faith community to consider making a one-time gift of any amount toward completion of this project.
ContactsPlease contact the church office for additional information: [email protected]
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Additional Information |