Energy Resources

A sustainable congregation starts with energy efficiency

EPA ENERGY STAR Action Workbook for Congregations

This 79-page workbook provides practical advice to help congregations implement energy efficiency changes in their houses of worship and start saving money (2019).

Download Workbook

Explore Energy Efficiency Programs

Going Solar Resources

Going Solar: Michigan IPL's Guidebook for Houses of Worship (2015)

Download Guidebook

Going Solar: Guides

Going Solar: 10 Steps for Congregations (1 page)
Going Solar: Guidebook for Houses of Worship (48 pages, published in 2015-- revision coming soon!)
What is a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)? (2 pages)
Solar Guide for Houses of Worship: How to Use Investors (by the Genesis of Ann Arbor Green Team, 10 pages)

Going Solar: Webinars

Solar Summit: A Webinar with Haslett Community Church (March 2020)

Haslett Community Church's Solar Summit provides an opportunity for houses of worship interested in renewable energy a chance to exchange ideas, hopes and plans. In addition to brainstorming and networking, we will have Michigan leaders in renewable energy projects on hand to share their knowledge. Together, we can imagine a pathway to a more environmentally friendly, fossil-fuel free future!

Solar Faithful Webinar: Using Investors and Power Purchase Agreements (May 2020)

Houses of Worship who have gone solar with investors and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in Ann Arbor share about their process and experiences.

Solar Congregations in Michigan

As of May 2020, nearly 30 Michigan congregations use some form of solar energy. Here are the ones we're aware of:

Ann Arbor Seventh-day Adventist Church	Ann Arbor
Campus Chapel	Ann Arbor
First Congregational Church	Ann Arbor
First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor	Ann Arbor
Genesis of Ann Arbor	Ann Arbor
Congregational Church of Birmingham, UCC	Bloomfield Hills
Gesu Catholic Church and School	Detroit
Lord of Lords Ministries (solar exterior lights)	Detroit
Pilgrim Baptist Church (solar exterior lights)	Detroit
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church (solar water heater)	Detroit
St. Peter's Episcopal Church	Detroit
Edgewood United Church	East Lansing
Islamic Center of East Lansing	East Lansing
Journey House Community of Christ (community solar)	East Lansing
The Peoples Church (community solar)	East Lansing
Ferndale First United Methodist Church	Ferndale
Church of the Servant	Grand Rapids
Plymouth United Church of Christ	Grand Rapids
Haslett Community Church	Haslett
Emmanuel Episcopal Church	Hastings
People's Church	Kalamazoo
Capital Area Congregation Community of Christ (community solar)	Lansing
Grace Lutheran Church	Lansing
Madonna University	Livonia
Congregation of St. Joseph	Nazareth
First Presbyterian Church of Saline	Saline
Berrien Unitarian Universalist Fellowship	St. Joseph
Keswick United Methodist Church	Suttons Bay
Hope Lutheran Church	Warren

If your solar congregation would like to be added to this list, email Jennifer. Faith communities that have installed solar are usually pretty excited to tell others about it, so if you'd like our help reaching a solar congregation, let us know and we'll do our best to connect you.

Legal Templates

As a part of the Solar Faithful initiative, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the City of Ann Arbor, we have four legal templates that may be useful if your faith community endeavors to finance solar using a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) or investor-owned LLC. Templates include:

☼ Solar Installation Agreement

☼ Power Purchase Agreement

☼ LLC Investor Operating Agreement