Post 209--Church and Limits of Solar Energy

Sometimes I get disgusted with the denomination of which I am a member, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). So often it does not live up to its own theology.At other times I am really proud of it and that's the case today. The church or its members can sometimes be very imaginative, at the front edge of things, creative.  

Today's story is about an American community. Now, I am not an American and I do not live in America. I am a Canadian living in Vancouver BC. However, my denomination straddles the border between our two countries; it has both Canadian and American members and churches. This story is American but in the context of an international church.

I share with you a story from the January issue of the CRC monthly, The Banner. It's a short story, but a powerful one, for it can serve as a model to be followed. And if all the churches were to follow its example, just imagine how much energy would be saved to be used for other causes!  And, of course, just imagine how much money each church would save that could be used for more positive things.  

The only thing I hope is that this would not deplete the supply of solar energy!  Not sure whether that is possible. My question here is: Is solar energy inexhaustible. Can we use too much of it like we do oil?  I have long ago been told that nothing is infinite except God. But what of solar energy? 

Here then is the article:

        “New Mexico Church to Run on Solar Energy”

            By Amy Toornstra

This fall, the people of Bethany Christian Reformed Church in Gallup, N.M., watched as a local company constructed an 1,800-foot carport fixed with 100 solar panels in their church parking lot. The solar energy collected from the panels will provide all the electrical needs for the church building. The carport project was initiated by the church’s “green team” coordinated by Rick Kruis, a member of Bethany CRC and leader in the Christian Reformed Office of Social Justice Climate Witness Project. The new construction was funded by investors within the church. The investor team will sell the solar energy back to the church in the first several years at a fixed cost of 12 cents per kilowatt hour until the system has paid for itself. With those costs less than the current utility rate, the church will save approximately $10,390 over eight years. After that, for the 25-year lifespan of the system, the church will have its energy supplied at no cost, saving about $172,000 over time. The church’s carbon output will also be reduced, eliminating approximately 944 tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the system. —

In The Banner, January 2018, p. 14.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/prod.assets.thebanner/37131%20Banner%202018-01_final%20lr_0.pdf