{"id":38793,"date":"2024-04-15t13:38:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-15t13:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=38793"},"modified":"2024-04-15t15:48:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15t15:48:11","slug":"catholic-organization-solar-panels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/catholic-organization-solar-panels\/","title":{"rendered":"catholic organization combats climate change through solar panel installations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
tucked away behind a catholic organization building in northeast washington, d.c. lies a vast solar farm soaking up the sun\u2019s rays as energy for catholic buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
these huge projects are thanks to the catholic climate covenant, an organization headquartered in washington, d.c., which helps the catholic community understand and act on the issue of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
executive director dan misleh founded the covenant in 2006 after he worked on environmental policy for the u.s. conference of catholic bishops. one of the ways the organization has helped catholic communities act on the issue of climate change is by encouraging community members to install solar panels on their properties to help them save money and lower their reliance on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
for misleh, climate change education is an essential part of the process. he said that when he discusses environmental issues with catholic organizations, he always tries to bring it back to his faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cif god has given us a gift, and if we just take that gift and throw it in the trash, that\u2019s not being very respectful to the gift giver,\u201d misleh said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
in recent years, many catholics felt motivated by pope francis\u2019s encyclical letter laudato si’<\/a> published in 2015 which established climate change as a moral issue catholics should address. in 2021, pope francis put his plans from the letter into action by telling catholic organizations to launch a seven year plan<\/a> to create environmentally sustainable efforts within their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n but misleh said that when he had the idea to install solar panels on catholic properties, he needed more help. through the covenant, misleh created catholic energies which focuses on the installation of these solar panels with the help of mission energy \u2014 a company that works to reduce energy costs through solar panels. misleh said mission energy provides the \u201cexpertise\u201d the covenant needs to install solar panels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n dan last, who is the co-chief executive officer of mission energy, said misleh approached him eight years ago with the idea to form a group within their company. he said mission energy was interested in creating catholic energies because they help catholic organizations reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they release and save money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cthere was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around doing work like this,\u201d last said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n laura clark, who is the vice president of operations for mission energy, also said solar panels help the environment because they reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n according to misleh, installing solar panels on catholic buildings has helped them save between a few thousand to over a hundred thousand dollars in their electrical bill since they were installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n these catholic organizations pay to install their solar panels through the help of a power purchase agreement. last said that with this agreement, a third party is responsible for paying for the installation of these solar panels, with the catholic organizations later paying back the third party over a set amount of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[third party developers] like working with our groups because churches, catholic healthcare systems, religious communities are not going anywhere and in some cases have been around for hundreds of years,\u201d last said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n but since the passage of president biden\u2019s inflation reduction act in 2022, last said the amount of money catholic organizations have to pay back to third parties under the power purchase agreement is lower since the federal government is now subsidizing up to 50% of the cost for sustainable projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n through the work of catholic energies, catholic organizations are finding it easier and cheaper to carry out sustainable practices. since the establishment of catholic energies within mission energy, last said the group has completed over three dozen projects across the united states.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\npaying for power<\/h2>\n\n\n\n