Good Shepherd Episcopal Church is a nonprofit faith-based organization located in Silver Spring, MD.  The church will be installing a 94.16 kW rooftop solar PV system in two phases. The first phase (approximately 60 kWs) will include the installation of rooftop solar on the church’s existing buildings. The second phase will take place once construction of the church’s expanded education wing is complete. The proposed system will send solar electricity to the church’s electrical system and will be installed as a net metered facility. The developer, Flywheel Development, will install the system and execute a Power Purchase Agreement with the church, selling the power generated by the system at a discount.

Over the next 25 years, the solar PV will avoid the consumption of 2,416,00 kWh of energy not sourced from the local utility provider, mitigating 1,595 metric tons of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. The energy savings will lead to projected savings of $222,115 over 25 years in reduced electricity bills for the property.

MCGB tailored a ten year loan to Flywheel Development to provide them with construction financing for a Power Purchase Agreement with Good Shepherd Episcopal Church.  A Power Purchase Agreement allows the non-profit to take advantage of lower electricity bills and clean energy without having to pay for upfront costs, maintenance, or the operations of the solar system.

Montgomery County Green Bank played a critical role in enabling this project through a 2 part loan consisting of a short term bridge loan converting to a permanent term loan, with both parts of the loan totaling ten years.

The Green Bank has been working closely with Interfaith Power & Light on helping faith communities go solar. As a result of the Green Bank’s partnership with Interfaith Power & Light, Good Shepherd and 3 other Episcopal Churches have installed PV solar systems.

See ipldmv.org/solar for more resources from Interfaith Power & Light, including a map of existing faith communities with solar and a recording of an info session on solar for faith communities