Dan Misleh got the idea for Catholic Energies after Pope Francis called on Catholics to take up a \u201ccommitment to the environment\u201d in his 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Si<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misleh had been speaking to Catholic groups on climate, as executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant, and people would often tell him they couldn\u2019t persuade their pastor, or their Catholic school principal, to talk about climate issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figuring that \u201cone thing that seems to motivate everybody is saving money,\u201d Misleh launched the Catholic Energies program, and began talking about how a Catholic school could save $6,000 a year with an LED lighting retrofit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misleh teamed up with Dan Last, now a solar developer with Mission Energy, and the two ultimately persuaded four parishes in Ohio to adopt LED lighting. Yet reaching that agreement \u201ctook an enormous amount of work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, Misleh heard that \u201ca lot of Catholic institutions wanted to look at solar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, with Catholic Energies having completed its first solar installation just 13 months ago, the program expects to reach 22 installations by the end of this year, with 11 in Virginia and the others across several states. The program can provide its services anywhere in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Word of mouth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nonprofit Catholic Climate Covenant, which runs the Catholic Energies program, does not advertise the offering, beyond mentions in its newsletter to 30,000 people, and through social media. The solar leads are generated through word of mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program\u2019s largest project to date is a 2 MW solar installation in Washington, D.C. (image below) on a property where nuns in the Catholic order Missionaries of Charity\u2014\u201cMother Theresa\u2019s nuns,\u201d said Misleh\u2014provide hospice care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help with the facility\u2019s finances, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington had been considering selling some of the land, but \u201cwhen we started talking to them about solar,\u201d says Misleh, they decided to install a solar facility, \u201cbecause D.C. is just a great solar market.\u201d The project has reduced Catholic Charities\u2019 energy costs, and is helping offset the cost of a new roof and windows for the hospice building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When stories of this and other early projects \u201chit the airwaves,\u201d said Misleh, \u201cpeople started calling and it was off to the races.\u201d The program recently announced<\/a> solar installations on seven churches and schools in Virginia\u2019s Diocese of Richmond, totaling 1.3 MW. Those solar projects, like most of Catholic Energies\u2019 projects, will be financed through power purchase agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Catholic Energies team consists of Dan Misleh plus seven other team members who are employed by Mission Energy, Misleh said. Mission Energy is \u201cpretty much working exclusively for us,\u201d he added, and takes care of \u201call the technical aspects\u201d of solar development, including arranging financing and selecting a contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catholic Climate Covenant is a national Catholic organization with ties to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Misleh said. \u201cSo we\u2019re a trusted entity. We\u2019re looking out for the Catholic entity and trying to make sure that they are getting the best possible deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about a news report stating that a typical solar developer fee is 15%, Misleh said the Catholic Energies program \u201cwill take as low a fee as possible to get the project done. If a project looks feasible, but there\u2019s no way that they can squeeze 15% profit out of it, then they\u2019ll take less. And overall, over the portfolio of projects it\u2019s certainly below 15%. I don\u2019t know what the percentage is offhand, but it\u2019s certainly lower. We\u2019re not in it for the money. We\u2019re in it to make this available to as many Catholic institutions as want it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noting that some states and utility regions are less favorable for rooftop solar development than others, Catholic Energies sometimes advises Catholic groups to \u201cwait until the market changes a little bit in your area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, Misleh has found that some Catholic entities, \u201ceven if it costs more, will do it because they know it\u2019s the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misleh\u2019s role begins with bringing Catholic entities such as parishes, schools, and retreat centers to the solar market. Later, once a solar project has been built, he encourages the Catholic entity to educate its constituents: \u201cso if it\u2019s a parish, the parishioners; if it\u2019s a school, the students, and maybe their parents; if it\u2019s a healthcare facility, the employees of that facility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal is to try to help Catholics understand church teaching on the environment,\u201d he said. \u201cWe give them a very practical experience of how we can be better stewards of this gift we call creation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYoung people, generally, including young Catholics, are very concerned about the environment, and climate change in particular. So for some Catholic institutions, this is a witness for them. You know, we care about your future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catholic organizations own between 70,000 and 100,000 buildings, as well as land, Misleh said. The buildings include churches, schools, rectories, university buildings, and health care facilities. There is also \u201ca lot of land available; we could do a lot more land-based solar arrays. So the market is enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of the difficulties in some states or utility regions in making solar \u201cpencil out,\u201d Misleh said his group could probably save Catholic organizations money with solar more widely, \u201cif we could get financing to be less expensive.\u201d With financing at a 5% return on investment, \u201cwe could probably put solar just about anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked whether Catholic Energies might someday serve non-Catholic clients, Misleh said \u201cWe\u2019re happy to share our model with other faith groups, other nonprofit entities, [to show] how we do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From: https:\/\/pv-magazine-usa.com\/2020\/08\/31\/catholic-organizations-go-solar-to-save-money-and-to-put-faith-into-practice\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catholic organizations own up to 100,000 buildings in the U.S., as well as land, and Catholic Energies is helping them go solar. \u201cThe market is enormous,\u201d said the program\u2019s leader. Dan Misleh got the idea for Catholic Energies after Pope Francis called on Catholics to take up a \u201ccommitment to the environment\u201d in his 2015…
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