Creation Care

Stewardship of the Earth
What we have done at Our Redeemer

News article from the Schenectady Daily Gazette

Scotia church goes solar to save


State's incentive program pays most of $94K cost
Saturday, January 9, 2010
By Michael Lamendola
Gazette Reporter

SCOTIA - Parishioners of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Scotia have found new meaning in the phrase "Let there be light" - savings.

The congregation is installing a photovoltaic system on the church's roof that is expected to save $2,400 annually in electricity costs. Parishioners tapped into a state green energy rebate program and used a memorial gift to cover the cost of the $94,000 installation.

Pastor Dennis Meyer said the system will supply electricity to the church for the next 25 years. "When the sun shines, we will put electricity into the grid and we will draw from the grid at night," he said.

The process is called net metering, said Eliot Goodwin of groSolar, which is installing the system for the church. "It is a dollar-for-dollar credit you build during the day. Anyone with a meter can do it."

Meyer said the church knows how much electricity it uses annually and so can make comparisons. "When we are making electricity and not using it, the meter runs backward. When we need electricity, we will draw from that grid. At end of year we hope we sent in as much as we drew in."

The church will still have to pay a delivery charge.

GroSolar is a certified installer through the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency. NYSERDA provides cash incentives through certified installers to individuals, businesses and organizations that install new solar electric or photovoltaic systems. Incentives are through the state's Solar Electric Incentive Program. The program offered $13.8 million in incentives in 2009.

"The state pays for two-thirds of the cost of the installation and nonprofits pay the remaining one-third," Goodwin said. He said more nonprofits are taking advantage of the state program in a time of decreasing revenues. "They see it as a way to stabilize tight budgets."
For businesses and individuals, the state program pays about 40 percent of the installation cost, but they are also eligible for state and federal tax breaks, which cover about two-thirds of the cost. The state program has been around five years, but has become more popular in recent years as the cost of solar panels and other equipment has dropped by about 40 percent in that time.

Meyer said the church obtained a $74,000 grant from NYSERDA and used a $20,000 bequest from the family of Harold and Ruth Walther, long-time members of the church, for the project. "The family supports the use of the bequest in this manner," he said.
The church expects to recoup its investment within eight years and also expects to play a role in helping the environment, he said. The system is scheduled to go on line in a couple of months.

"Once completed, it will offset 315 tons of carbon pollution over 25 years, which is the equivalent of planting 38 acres of trees," Meyer said.

Photographer: Peter Barber

Gro Solar worker Peter Hawkins, installs solar panels on the roof of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church on Thursday.

 

 

An Energy Audit was conducted in May 2007. The audit was scheduled through NYSERDA, and identified ways we could reduce our energy usage. As a follow up to the audit:

We purchased a new thermostat for the sanctuary which enabled us to do a different program for each day of the week. This allows us to heat the space only when it is in use. All thermostats in the building are now programmable.

Energy efficient lighting has been installed throughout the building.

We started organic lawn care in the summer of 2008.

An exhaust fan was installed in the attic in the fall of 2008. The fan will automatically draw in cooler, outside air when the attic temperature gets hot. This will lower our summer electricity usage.

We use washable coffee cups during fellowship time (rather than Styrofoam or paper cups).

We purchase fair trade palms, grown sustainably, for palm Sunday.

We have joined Interfaith Power and Light so that we may better understand ways in which we as a congregation can protect God's creation.

We recycle!

 

Creation Care Links

The Story of Stuff

- Click on the link about to watch a presentation about how "stuff" is made, bought

and disposed of. This video explores how it impacts the environment and our lives as well as the lives of others. The "Story of Stuff" exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Fight Global Warming

Interfaith Power and Light

- Click on the links above to find information about Global Warming at what you can do about it.

Stewardship of Creation Booklet

- Part of our Stewardship Roadtrip for Lent

During Lent in 2008, our theme for Sunday services was "Stewardship of Creation." The inserts that were included in the bulletins each week suggested ways members of the congregation can help care for the world God made for us. Here at church, we wanted to make sure that we didn't just "talk the talk" - and we want to let you know ways that Our Redeemer "walked the walk."

Throughout Lent, rather than purchase flower arrangements, we asked Price Chopper to supply us with plants. The reason is two fold: Flowers are dying, and many are not grown in an environmentally responsible way. Plants are living, and provide the added benefit of purifying the air around us.

To reduce the paper we used to publish the weekly bulletin, we consolidated information and announcements. This eliminated one insert.

In past years, on Palm Sunday, we printed the beginning of the service which occurs in Fellowship Hall. This year, to reduce our paper use, we brought the hymnals downstairs and used them. In addition, we purchased eco-palms which were harvested in a sustainable way. More of the money paid for these palms directly benefit the people that harvest them.

We purchased a new thermostat for the sanctuary which allowed us to create a different program for each day of the week. With the old thermostat, the heat was up on Saturday morning. Now, the heat is on only Sunday mornings.

During most of Lent, the coffee that was brewed in our coffee pots was distributed by the Rogers Family Company, a company which pays its coffee farmers a price based on the cost of production plus a reasonable return. In addition, they encourage their farmers to farm sustainably and in concert with the environment.

Lastly, we purchased rechargeable batteries for use in the microphones here at church.
We continue to explore ways here at church that we can be better stewards of the earth God entrusted us with. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let us know.


ORLC@nycap.rr.com


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