Video: Climate and Energy Resources for Faith Communities

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) created the largest climate and clean energy investment America has ever made. These bills provide federal funding for energy and climate resiliency improvements that can be used in houses of worship and our homes. This historic legislation provides people of faith and conscience with an opportunity to live our values of caring for one another and for our Sacred Earth.

The IRA includes clean energy tax credits for wind and solar, EVs, efficiency upgrades, heat pumps, and much more. It also made it easier for nonprofits and houses of worship to access clean energy funds and tax credits through a program called “direct pay.” Before the IRA, only homeowners and commercial entities with some tax liability could claim tax credits when installing solar panels or other eligible technologies on an eligible property. Now, the “direct pay” option means non-taxable entities can also benefit from these credits.

COOL CONGREGATIONS CALCULATOR

The members of the NM IPL Cool Congregations Committee are helping to unveil and implement broad use of a new tool called the Cool Congregations Calculator. The tool is an easy way to determine your congregation’s carbon footprint and how it compares with similar congregations in your area. There is also a tool to determine your household carbon footprint.

The tool can be accessed through the Cool Congregations webpage. We encourage you to try out the tool. You may want to start with the one for your household and move from there to your faith community. David Robertson (robertson.david51@gmail.com) is the contact for questions or problems using the Cool Congregations Calculator tool.

Join the Challenge

We also wanted to make you aware of the Cool Congregations Challenge. It is an annual national contest to recognize “Cool Congregations” that are becoming energy efficient and sustainable role models within their communities. A $1000 prize will be awarded for each of five categories of sustainability. See the Cool Congregations webpage for detailed information.

New Mexico IPL can also provide you with general assistance as your faith community considers energy savings and solar installation. We can connect you to financing options through NM IPL, Catholic Energies, RE-Volv and help connect you to other resources as you begin the brainstorming and planning process. Emily Syal (emily@nm-ipl.org) is the primary contact at New Mexico IPL for Cool Congregations work.