St. Barnabas Goes Green with Solar Energy PDF Print E-mail
St. Barnabas Goes Green with Solar EnergyOn sunny days, Beth Hilgartner, Rector of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Norwich, likes to go watch the building’s electrical meter run backward. It’s an amusement made possible by new solar panels that generate enough photovoltaic energy to fuel the church’s electricity needs and send clean energy into the grid system that benefits us all.

Gro Solar, a developer and distributor of photovoltaic and solar hot water systems located in White River Junction, erected the new panels behind St. Barnabas in late August. The installation is made up of three 10-panel arrays mounted on poles for a total of 30 panels. Speced to generate 540 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, the solar panels should cover the church’s total electricity needs. Bottom line, St. Barnabas Church is powering its lights, computers, sound systems, and anything else it plugs into the wall, with clean, renewable, solar energy.

How it Works

Converting sun rays into electricity is pretty simple if you don’t trouble yourself with the all the technology inside the parts of the system. First, of course, sun rays hit the photovoltaic (PV) panels. Solar electricity is sent from the panels to an inverter which converts DC power into AC power. That DC power is sent to the main electrical panel which in turn connects to the outside utility meter that keeps tabs on how much electricity is being used or generated.

When a building—or the people in the building—uses energy from the main grid system, the meter runs forward and the utility company bills for the amount of electricity consumed. When the building’s electrical use is powered by photovoltaic energy, the meter runs backward indicating that the utility company should credit the consumer. Extra photovoltaic energy—electricity that the building does not require—is sent to the main grid system. Some power companies offer a premium on the credit back to the consumer. For example, local utility Green Mountain Power pays back .06 per kilowatt on top of the normal cost which helps the consumer realize return on investment for their photovoltaic system.

The Gift of Energy

Photovoltaic energy makes great sense for non-profit organizations that need to provide a comfortable facility but are constantly looking for ways to save money. On the other hand, installing a clean, efficient photovoltaic system usually requires a significant investment. Fortunately for St. Barnabas, a generous donation from the White- Flowers Foundation made it possible to invest in clean energy and eliminate electricity bills into the future. The gift was made in honor of Ann Flowers’, a St. Barnabas parishioner, 80th birthday. Flowers’ son Chris oversees the White-Flowers Foundation. “For my birthday, my son said that I could have money to use for anything I wanted at the church,” reports Flowers. “I talked over ideas with Beth (Hilgartner) and she had the idea of solar panels. She’s very interested in conservation. I said YES!” While Flowers didn’t know too much about solar electricity before donating the new panels to St. Barnabas she says she’s learning more about it. “The panels are just about indestructible and the upkeep is minimal,” she explains. “And they deliver totally clean energy.” They also fit perfectly with Flowers’ love of Vermont, her new home having moved to Thetford from Massachusetts four years ago. “Vermont is my dream place,” says Flowers. “It’s so beautiful and so quiet. And the church is just beautiful with its labyrinth and gardens and now the panels.”

The St. Barnabas Installation

People don’t often remark on the aesthetic quality of solar panels or any type of electrical generator for that matter. There is something about the St. Barnabas installation that’s, well, inspirational.

Standing behind the church building and looking east, one can turn their head to the right and see the sun high in the south and follow its light down to the waiting panels, their faces tilted up to collect every ray. Next to the panels are a swing set and balance beam where kids play and wait for chatting parents. There’s a forested area and plenty of green lawn and flowering shrubberies and plants within a stone’s throw from the panel arrays.

Nothing says clean energy like a play area situated just feet away from electrical generators. There is no need to fence off the poles holding the panels, no reason to post WARNING signs of any kind.

“We thought a lot about the site,” remembers Hilgartner. “I thought that the panels might be installed on the roof but Gro Solar pointed out that, in order for them to work efficiently, we’d have to cut down some trees. We certainly didn’t want to do that. They worked hard to place the poles in a way that would look good and work best.”

The panels cannot be seen from the road or front of the church. They are only visible to people who drive behind the church to park or from the Marion Cross side of the church building.

It’s Only the Beginning

“These solar panels are an important first step for us but we want to be even more green,” says Hilgartner. “I’m even more excited about the symbol of the panels. We’re caring for creation and that means changing the way we live. We’re saving on our electrical bills but there are even bigger intangible benefits.”

Both Hilgartner and Flowers hope that the St. Barnabas solar panels will inspire other environmentally-friendly donations to organizations in town and the Upper Valley. They know first-hand that donations can go a long way to making real change in awareness, behavior change, and global warming mitigation.

Hilgartner is quick to point to other things St. Barnabas parishioners are doing to decrease their church’s and community’s carbon footprint. “Our Caring for Creation team works on a variety of projects,” says Hilgartner. “We encourage car pooling to church and in general, limit mowing around the church which cuts down on fuel consumption and increases local habitat, and we’re the pick up location for Luna Blue Farm co-op. Members don’t have to drive so far and use as much gas to get their organic vegetables.” St. Barnabas is trying to “model ideas and show that energy-saving measures are o.k.” “We hope to set a good example without being in your face,” says Hilgartner. Clean, renewable electricity, no or low electricity bill, minimal aesthetic impact—it’s clear that St. Barnabas’ backward running utility meter shows real forward thinking.