Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church installed a 60 panel solar array on the church, the largest community supported solar system in WV. Working with nearly 100 area families and businesses, and Shepherdstown-based Solar Holler, West Virginia’s first solar financing company, the church developed a project plan that allowed it to go solar at no cost and without a traditional fundraising campaign. The funding was raised through the installation of ‘demand response’ controllers on community members’ electric water heaters. The water heater controllers have been installed and operated by Mosaic Power, a smart grid technology company in Frederick, Maryland. Mosaic Power manages water heaters as a virtual power plant—responding to the electricity grid in real time to make it more efficient. Through this service, Mosaic Power reduces blackouts and pollution.
Mosaic Power pays property owners $100 per tank per year for participation in their virtual power plant. In Shepherdstown, project participants agreed to donate those funds to pay off a loan taken out to install the church solar project. The project loan will be paid off in under 5 years through revenue from the water heater installations. The Church will benefit from lower electrical bills while generating electricity that reduces air and water pollution, consistent with the church’s commitment to creation care.
The Shepherdstown Presbyterian solar panels have generated enough electricity to prevent 14.8 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Furthermore, the water heater devices save on average about 1.5 tons of CO2 emissions per household, which means the community impact of the church’s project is even greater — equaling about 167,000 pounds of coal that would have been burned each year, according to the EPA’s greenhouse emission calculator. (The calculator uses national averages.)
Randy Tremba, pastor of Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church, said “The earth and its wondrous web of life is clearly not of our own making. It’s a gift and we know it. Or should. It’s our job to sing its praises, photograph its wonders, and treat it with utmost gratitude and respect. It is sacred. Every step we take is on holy ground.
Julie Litwin of MTV Solar, a Shepherdstown resident, described the economic potential for West Virginia in renewable energy. “Solar power creates good jobs in West Virginia and has the potential to produce many more,” Litwin said. “The new financial model created by SPC and Solar Holler, opens the door to more solar industry development across the state.”
Sources:
Press Release Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church dedicates community-support solar system. https://www.presbyterianmission.org/eco-journey/2014/08/26/shepherdstown-presbyterian-church-dedicates-commun/.
Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church Website. https://www.shepherdstownpresbyterian.org/ministries/spc-solar.
