Unitarian Universalist Congregation celebrates switch to solar

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie made a big change as one of the first local religious organizations to go solar. With the installation of 46 solar panels on the roof of their building off of Perry Highway, the congregation now runs completely on clean energy.

“It helps our bottom line; although we had to put an initial financial outlay, they will pay for themselves in just a matter of years, and then we will have basically free electricity,” said Kelly Armor, president of the board of Trustees at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie.

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“We have generated six, more than six megawatts of electric in just over a month,” said Nanci Lorei, the Chair of Finance at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie

That electricity is about 1/6 of the building’s need for the whole year, which has already been generated since installing the panels just over a month ago.

Church leaders said this project wasn’t just about lowering energy costs; it was about putting their values into action.

“It’s about environmental stewardship, that we can use the sun to generate all of our electricity is green, it is, it doesn’t burn fossil fuels, it’s really good for the planet,” said Armor.

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“This was made possible by the generous donations of our members and friends, and we were able to generate most of that and money saved over the coming years will make it all work really well, and so we’re very proud of this,” said Lorei.

With the switch officially flipped, the congregation celebrates a new chapter of solar energy they hope carries their message through generations.

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