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Solar program aids Virginia parishes, schools to be environmental stewards

Jennifer Neville | Catholic News Service

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RICHMOND — Seven Catholic entities in the Diocese of Richmond are going solar, a process some churches in the Arlington diocese began last year. 

In 2019, Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church in Arlington was the
first parish in the Arlington diocese to have solar panels installed, and this
year three other parishes followed suit: Church of the Nativity in Burke, St.
Bernadette Church in Springfield and St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls
Church. 

Inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common
Home,” parishes and schools in the Richmond diocese have
partnered with Catholic Energies, a program of the Washington-based Catholic
Climate Covenant, to integrate solar energy and other energy-saving tools into
daily operations.

Catholic Energies projects the efforts will offset more than
45,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases — about that of an average passenger car
driven 100 million miles — over the next 25 years.

“It is the best of both worlds. We can save money and care
for the environment,” said Father Jonathan Goertz, pastor of Sacred Heart Church
in Danville, one of the churches joining the effort. “Whenever we can have
our cake and eat it too makes us happy.”

In 2019, Immaculate Conception Church in Hampton became the first
parish in the diocese to convert to solar energy. Now six parishes and schools
are completing solar projects that will provide some of the electricity needed
through solar power.

Other entities include Church of the Holy Family in Virginia
Beach; Church of St. Therese in Chesapeake; Our Lady of Lourdes School in
Richmond; Roanoke Catholic School; Sacred Heart Church School in Danville; and
St. Pius X Church and school in Norfolk. The 45,000-square foot diocesan
Pastoral Center in Richmond also will employ solar power for much of its
electricity.

For the parishes and schools, solar power makes fiscal and
environmental sense.

Mark Stinard, Holy Family’s facilities manager, told the Catholic Virginian, newspaper of the Richmond diocese,
“It’s a win-win situation.”

Kevin Hawke, Sacred Heart’s facilities maintenance and security
coordinator, said the environment was the parish’s “No. 1 concern.”

“It wasn’t just about money and how much money can we save but
also our effect on the environment,” he explained. “It was about what kind of
world we are leaving for future generations.”

Even if adopting solar power would not have resulted in
substantial savings, some parishes said they still might have converted, at
least partially, to cleaner energy.

“Our primary concern is the environment and taking better
care of God’s creation. That’s the fundamental basis why we’re doing
this,” said Father Kevin O’Brien, Church of St. Therese pastor. “Even
if we didn’t raise a penny or we broke even, it was still worth it.”

Philip Kauneckas, a Sacred Heart parishioner collaborating with
Catholic Energies on the project, agreed that the opportunity to be stewards of
creation was the “driving force” of converting to solar power.

“Even if we break even, the project still would have been
worthwhile because it is good for the environment,” Kauneckas said.

Charles Mikell, director of the Richmond diocese’s Office of Real
Estate, said his goal is for the diocese to be the “greenest” in the
country. Employing solar energy is cost effective for 70 percent of the
diocese’s 146 parishes and 26 schools, he said, adding that he hopes all will
have solar energy within three years.

Page Gravely, who manages client services at Catholic Energies,
said the Richmond diocese appears to be “further along” that path
than most dioceses.

Converting to solar power either partially or completely may seem
daunting to some parishes and schools, but Catholic Energies works with
Catholic institutions without charge from the beginning, performing an economic
analysis to panel installation and activation, Gravely said. The entire process
usually lasts six months, he said.

Parish and school conversion to solar power comes at a time when
budgets are tight, partly because of lost jobs and the absence of an in-pew
offertory collection as Masses are livestreamed because of the coronavirus
pandemic. The utility savings will free money for other priorities, Gravely
said.

The solar panels can withstand winds of up to 150 miles per hour
and their life expectancy is 30-40 years.

Patrick Patterson, Roanoke Catholic School principal, said
converting to solar energy and the retrofitting of existing lights to
light-emitting diodes bulbs demonstrates the church’s call to be economic and
environmental stewards. He said the school saved $150 in energy cost in the
first three days of operation and he expects it will save about $30 per day
depending on how sunny it is and how much energy has been banked.

Adopting solar energies is a witness to the community and parish
leaders said Gravely, noting that it “shows youth, the next generation
which cares about the environment, that churches and schools also care.”

Deacon Fred Allen at the Church of St. Therese said parishioners
and people from the greater Chesapeake community have called the parish to
praise its commitment of caring for the environment. Some callers also
expressed interest in making the switch to solar energy.

St. Pius X pastoral associate Mark Hoggard agrees that the wider
use of solar energy speaks to the greater community.

“We are hoping this is something that the parish is proud of
and the school kids are proud of too,” Hoggard said. “It really says
to the community that we are witnesses to the environment and good stewards of
earth.”

Neville writes for The Catholic Virginian, newspaper of
the Diocese of Richmond.

 

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