Lighting the way
Asheville Catholic School is the latest location in the Diocese of Charlotte to install solar panels. Principal Mike Miller says, “It is so important for our schools and churches to set the example for others when it comes to caring for God’s creation. Our solar panels are just one way that we are setting that example.” (Photos provided)CHARLOTTE — Across western North Carolina, churches and schools are lighting the way of environmental stewardship – installing solar panel arrays to produce renewable, clean energy and reduce the amount of harmful C02 being released into the atmosphere.
It’s all part of the local Church’s response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.”
Earth Day, April 22, is an occasion to shed light on practical ways we can do our part to protect the planet, as called for by the pope. Laudato Si’ is the appeal from Pope Francis addressed to “every person living on this planet” for an inclusive dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our world. He calls on the Church and the world to acknowledge the urgency of our environmental challenges and to embark on a new path of awareness and action.
While Laudato Si’ is the first papal encyclical to focus comprehensively on the environment, its foundation rests in a long history of Church teaching on creation.
St. Stephen Mission in Elkin was the first to install solar panels on the roof of its fellowship hall in 2010.
In 2015, St. Eugene Church in Asheville installed a 47-kilowatt array of 147 solar panels on its roof. This generates on average $6,000 per year in savings, which covers about 30 percent of the church’s annual energy usage. Since installation, the panels have kept over 500,000 pounds of CO2 out of the air we breathe.
The project was a joint effort of the parish’s Care of Creation committee, the pastoral council, diocesan officials and the pastor, Father Patrick Cahill.
Installers from MB Haynes Energy Solutions of Asheville placed solar panels on the roof of St. Eugene Church’s parish hall in 2015.Parishioners raised the money through donations and matching grants, reaching their goal six months after a “Solar Sunday Weekend” appeal.
St. Eugene Parish received a letter from Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, congratulating them on the project and their support of Pope Francis and his environmental encyclical.
“It was a thrill to receive a letter of congratulations from Cardinal Turkson the very day we turned them on and officially ‘went solar,’” Father Cahill said.
St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte installed a 230-kilowatt solar panel array on the roof of St. Gabriel Parish Center and School in the spring of 2020. The 622 solar panels are producing approximately 345,000 kilowatt-hours per year – about 40 percent of the parish center/elementary school’s annual energy consumption.
The parish made a net investment of approximately $238,000 after savings and incentives.
“This PFI solar project is a win-win, allowing us to care for our common home, per Laudato Si’, conserving our natural resources and saving money,” said St. Gabriel Parish building committee member Tim Dixon when the project was unveiled. “We were encouraged by the St. Eugene Parish project and hope our project will encourage other parishes as well.”
A 100-kilowatt solar array was installed on the roof of the Diocesan Pastoral Center in the fall of 2020. The uptown Charlotte building installed 272 panels to save a significant amount on energy costs – approximately 20 percent.
The $150,000 project was funded in part through a $75,000 Duke Energy grant, and diocesan leaders expect the panels to pay for themselves within eight years.
The panels have a 25-year lifespan before they will need to be replaced. It is estimated that 26,000 pounds of carbon emissions are not emitted into the atmosphere each month because of the energy saved through these solar panels.
“We should be proud of all the things we do every day to care for our common home, to be good stewards of our planet and our resources,” said Anthony Morlando, diocesan properties director, when the solar array was installed.
Now, Asheville Catholic School is the latest location in the diocese to go solar – installing an array on the rooftop of its new, eco-friendly, 12,000-square-foot addition. The 49-kilowatt solar array of 152 panels is projected to power about 30% of the school's electricity.
The $120,000 project was funded by St. Eugene Parish, Asheville Catholic School and private donors. The school expects to receive a $36,750 rebate from Duke Energy, so the school's net cost is $83,250.
“Solar is a great investment – it makes money. It’s like a donor who writes a check every time the sun shines, for the next 25 years of warranty…caring for the Earth and for our children and grandchildren,” said Bill Maloney, who served as both the St. Eugene Church and ACS solar panel project coordinator.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Learn more
In the fall of 2020, the roof of the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Charlotte saw the installation of 272 solar panels – saving the diocese approximately 20 percent in energy costs. At www.catholicnewsherald.com: For Earth Day this year, read Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home” and dive deeper with educational resources provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
At www.ccdoc.org/careofcreation: See Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s website for more information about caring for creation.
https://www.usccb.org/offices/general-secretariat/laudato-si-care-our-common-home
From our earliest days of circuit-riding priests to our roots in the Carolina Gold Rush, the Diocese of Charlotte stands on the shoulders of countless missionary priests, consecrated religious, and faithful lay men and women who built up the Church in western North Carolina.
Thanks to their sacrifices, hard work and devotion, our diocese was born and has been blessed by God over these past 50 years.
A brief video summarizing this history has premiered in time for Easter.
Produced as part of the diocese’s 50th anniversary celebration, it is the latest in a series of commemorative materials the diocese is creating this year to inform and inspire the faithful as we celebrate our “Faith More Precious Than Gold.”