St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church Blesses New Solar Panels

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St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Albuquerque observed Earth Day by inaugurating its new solar power system  The Rt. Rev. Michael Buerkel Hunn, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande., was on hand on April 24, 2022, to bless the 6.54solar array, consisting of 20 solar panels. The system had been operational for several months now, but had not yet been officially launched.

The project was first conceived 15 years ago during the tenure of The Rev. Canon Carole McGowan,  who formed the Canterbury Advocates for Sustainable Environment (CASE). The committee was comprised of the late Don Partridge, Edwina Beard, Ginger Lawrence, Susan White and Richard Steele. “About 15 years ago, Rev. McGowan led a series of classes about we could be better servants of creation,’ said Sally Barlow, a member of the current solar team at the church. “As a result, the CASE committee was formed.”

Patridge’s wife, Susan Patrick, brought a cake to celebrate the blessing of the solar panels.  In addition to Bishop Hunn, Rev. McGowan and current Rector Edward Curtis presided over the ceremony.

 

Twenty Three Congregations in New Mexico Have Installed Solar Panels

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According to a new survey by the national Interfaith Power & Light, congregations from all faith traditions in the United States have dramatically increased their investments in solar PV systems for both their environmental and financial benefits.  Interfaith Power & Light (IPL) completed its third survey of congregations in the United States with solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems in December 2021. See the full list on IPL’s website.

IPL’s survey found:

  • A total of 1,250 congregations with PV systems in 48 states and the District of Columbia.
  • The 480 congregations added in the past two years exceeds the 400 additions identified in the 2019 biennial survey.
  • The combined PV capacity of congregational PV systems is 105 Megawatts (MW), approaching the installed solar capacity of Facebook, the 10th largest commercial user based on most recent SEIA data.

In a press release announcing its findings, IPL quoted Franciscan Father Tom Smith, director of the Holy Cross Retreat Center in Mesilla, NM.

“We are strong believers in the importance of caring for our common home, as spoken by Pope Francis in Laudato Sí.  As part of that commitment to care for the Earth and who we are and as part of our Franciscan tradition, we have decided to have 200 solar panels…  We do this because the sun is always there, especially in southern New Mexico. There’s lot of sun to provide energy for us and to reduce the use of carbon and oil and gas. We believe that it’s important for us to do our part to help people see the need to change the climate. It’s been a reality that our world is being affected. We want to keep it as natural as we can.”

Solar Congregations in New Mexico

St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church

Santa Maria de la Vid Norbertine Abbey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the 23 congregations, houses of worship and retreat centers in New Mexico listed among the 1,250 sites on the IPL national data base.

  1. Albuquerque Mennonite Church Albuquerque NM
  2. Bethany Christian Reformed Church Gallup NM
  3. Chelwood Christian Reformed Church Albuquerque NM
  4. Congregation Albert Albuquerque NM
  5. Congregation Nahalat Shalom Albuquerque NM
  6. First Presbyterian Church Albuquerque NM
  7. First Presbyterian Church of Taos Taos NM
  8. First Unitarian Church, Albuquerque, NM Albuquerque NM
  9. Friends Meeting Albuquerque NM
  10. Holy Cross Retreat Center Mesilla NM
  11. Las Placitas Presbyterian Church Placitas NM
  12. Monastery of Christ in the Desert Abiquiu NM
  13. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Albuquerque NM
  14. Norbetine Community (2015) Albuquerque NM
  15. Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Community Albuquerque NM
  16. Prince of Peace Catholic Community Albuquerque NM
  17. Santa Maria de la Vid Norbertine Abbey Albuquerque NM
  18. St. Anne Catholic Parish Santa Fe NM
  19. St. John XXIII Catholic Community Albuquerque NM
  20. St. Mark’s on the Mesa Episcopal Albuquerque NM
  21. St. Therese Catholic School Albuquerque N
  22. St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church Albuquerque NM
  23. United Church of Santa Fe Santa Fe NM

Reminder: Learn About Solar Options for your Faith Community

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Is your faith community interested in solar and would like to be part of a zoom call on financing? Join us for an informational session online with Collective Sun. Contact Tom Stark, tstark1960@gmail.com if you would like to participate in this Zoom meeting on Jan. 12.

Here are two videos with more information:

Collective Sun’s Solar Power Agreement (SPA) is a third-party ownership model in the form of a prepaid service agreement. It allows a nonprofit to benefit indirectly from the federal tax benefits they cannot access when they purchase solar directly – making the transition to solar more affordable. Our minimum project size is 50kW or $150,000. In summary, the customer will prepay 88% of the total system cost directly to their chosen installer following a construction milestone schedule. CollectiveSun will pay the remaining 12% directly to the installer once we have a fully commissioned system.

The funds for the 88% prepayment can come from any number of sources including cash reserves, donations, grant funds, or any lender of their choice, including a loan from the SunForAll Solar Fund. The nonprofit will keep any state, local, or utility rebates/incentives available to them. The nonprofit will own the energy generated by the system from day one at no additional cost. We will own, operate and maintain the system.

At the end of the 6th year, ownership will transfer to the nonprofit for no additional cost. When the nonprofit prepays 88% of the project cost, they are prepaying a 20-year service agreement. Within that 20-year service agreement an early termination option becomes available to the nonprofit that allows them to take ownership of the solar system for no additional cost. The buyout is equal to the remaining 14-years of prepaid service agreement payments, resulting in a $0 net purchase – or no additional cost. In addition to the discount, nonprofits benefit from our project management and commissioning support.