Renewable Power Perspectives Q&A with Kristal Hansley, Founder & CEO of WeSolar, Inc.

I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar movement. To be able to use an item that will save our community up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods cost effective access to local neighborhood solar and to assist industrial residential or commercial properties with energy performance. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched, and I desired to make sure city homeowners were receiving the same quantity of investment as the county. Sustainable energy has actually traditionally been a middle-class problem because Black neighborhoods have actually had to live in survival mode, but Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and linked me with the individuals I required to link with in order to make this collaboration successful.

By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is happy to share the first installation in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog site series. Each installation will include market leaders and subjects related to accelerating an equitable and just shift to a renewable resource economy. In recognition of National Black Business Month, our August blog site is the very first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member companies are prospering in the renewable energy sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the countrys first Black female CEO in the community solar industry. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing rapidly, offering consumers across Maryland and the District of Columbia access to economical solar power, despite home type, and assisting hard-working households decrease month-to-month expenses.
What inspired you to begin your company?
I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the community solar motion. 36% of Black homes experience a high energy burden, meaning they spend over 6% of their income on home energy costs. To be able to provide an item that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
Inform us about your company?
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget-friendly access to local community solar and to assist industrial residential or commercial properties with energy performance. In Maryland, lawmakers passed legislation that specifies 50 percent of its electricity must come from eco-friendly energy sources by 2030.
What challenges do you face? Why?
To a neighborhood that is already dealing with so numerous pressing challenges, encouraging them that there is another one just as essential is extremely hard. I keep in mind attempting to discuss community solar to my buddies and the conversation rapidly pivoting to housing.
Please show us a current company success story.
A very individual success story for me is cultivating a partnership with Maryland United Baptist Missionary Convention, Inc. I matured in a Baptist church in Brooklyn where my cousin was the pastor, and my mama was an organizer– neighborhood was sewn into my extremely being. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced, and I desired to guarantee city citizens were receiving the very same quantity of investment as the county. It was the church that took me in, and the church that then supported my vision– bringing whatever cycle. Eco-friendly energy has traditionally been a middle-class problem due to the fact that Black communities have actually needed to live in survival mode, however Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with the individuals I required to get in touch with in order to make this collaboration successful.
For more information about WeSolar, visit wesolar.energy
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