Getting the electric bill for St. Philip Lutheran Church used to be an unpleasant experience. For our church and parsonage in Roanoke, Virginia, the bill routinely topped $1,000 a month. These days, though, I’m actually excited to open the bills: Last month’s was less than $80!
What changed? Our congregation made the decision last year to invest in a 99-panel, 40 kilowatt solar installation put up by SunDay Solar, a Charlottesville company.
We did this because our church has a strong commitment to care for God’s creation, but it will also free up a significant portion of our spending plan. That money can now go to supporting the ministries we engage — like Elijah’s Backpack, which provides food for the weekend for local students; Witnessing Paws, which trains therapy animals; and the support we provide to the Minnick Education Center, a school for children who’ve faced challenges in public school — rather than paying for the electricity that is now supplied by the sun.
We believe we are the first church in Roanoke to install solar, but we hope we won’t be the last.
Unfortunately, Appalachian Power Company wants to drastically lower the amount new solar customers are credited for excess energy they supply, which could make it harder for churches, residents and businesses to make this decision.
The way it works now is that when our system generates more electricity than we can use, it goes out to the grid and we are credited with those kilowatt hours. In April, for instance, we delivered 776 kilowatt hours of electricity to the grid.
Then, if in future months — say winter months when solar panels generate less electricity — we use more energy than we produce, those credited kilowatt hours would reduce our bill.
Appalachian’s proposal would reduce that credit substantially. Instead of crediting us for those hours at the same rate they charge us for electricity, they would only credit us for about a quarter of that amount, greatly reducing how much cost will be offset in lower-production months.
While this will only impact new solar customers, it’s still a bad move that will discourage the development of new solar installations and the bold leap to do the right and faithful thing. Compounding that, Appalachian also wants to charge solar customers a new monthly fee, on top of the many fees we continue to pay.
Virginia’s State Corporation Commission will decide whether to approve Appalachian’s proposal. The commission should reject it. Crediting solar customers for only a quarter of the cost of the electricity they produce and tacking on a new monthly fee will make it harder for solar customers to recoup their investment — and might turn many people off the idea altogether.
That isn’t good for God’s creation, for Virginia’s efforts to increase the amount of renewable energy produced in the state or for churches like ours looking to invest more in our ministries.
Derrick is pastor of St. Philip Lutheran Church in Roanoke.