Danbury Congregation Goes Solar

Two years ago, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Danbury voted unanimously to dramatically cut fossil fuel use and to reduce overall energy usage. Many improvements have been made to reduce energy expense and usage, but the decision to install a photo-voltaic solar system took some creative planning and thinking about the long-term resources and needs of the congregation. In early January, the congregation fired up the system after installation by Ross Solar Group of Danbury and after approvals by the City of Danbury and Eversource. The system is designed to produce over 32,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year in a net-metering arrangement, with excess power flowing back to the Danbury grid. Benefits to the area include better air quality and fewer greenhouse gasses that cause atmospheric warming.

Walt Sizemore, President of the Board of Trustees, says that the congregation hopes to be a resource for other faith communities to assist in finding ways to control utility costs and be more responsive to community desires to reduce greenhouse gasses. He welcomes faith communities to tour our facility. According to the Danbury Building Department, the Unitarian Universalist congregation is the first religious institution in Danbury to go solar.

The congregation worked with Eversource to earn Renewable Energy Credits. As a result, income to the congregation will flow for 15 years as an incentive for producing clean energy which will significantly reduce the cost of the system. Additionally, Eversource graciously made a $3900 contribution to the congregation under the Neighborhood Assistance Act to assist in expenses of the overall energy enhancement program.

The congregation will also be participating with Solarize with Faith, a developing statewide effort to obtain discounts for congregants when they install solar systems on their homes. This is an expansion of the Solarize CT program developed by Energize CT, the CT Green Bank, and SmartPower, a not-for-profit group working to increase use of solar energy and of energy efficiency technology. Donna Lawrence, Member of the Board and Chair of Team Green, hopes that her team can make presentations to interested congregations on how to participate in the benefits of Solarize with Faith.