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

By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is pleased to share the very first installment in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog series. Each installment will include industry leaders and topics connected to speeding up an equitable and just transition to a sustainable energy economy. In recognition of National Black Business Month, our August blog is the very first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member companies are thriving in the renewable energy sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the nations first Black female CEO in the neighborhood solar market. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing rapidly, supplying customers throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia access to budget-friendly solar power, regardless of house type, and helping hard-working families decrease monthly expenses.
What inspired you to begin your business?
I was at a community meeting with 50 Black females organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar motion. 36% of Black homes experience a high energy problem, meaning they invest over 6% of their earnings on home energy bills. To be able to offer an item that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative.
Inform us about your business?
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods affordable access to local neighborhood solar and to help industrial properties with energy efficiency. In Maryland, lawmakers passed legislation that mentions 50 percent of its electrical energy need to come from eco-friendly energy sources by 2030.
What challenges do you deal with? Why?
To a neighborhood that is currently facing many pushing challenges, persuading them that there is another one just as crucial is extremely challenging. I keep in mind trying to explain neighborhood solar to my friends and the discussion rapidly rotating to real estate. The reality of the matter is, institutional bigotry and injustice are larger than we know, and it drowns our community. Where Black individuals are not being purchased, we are being asked to focus on continuously for our survival.
Please share with us a recent company success story.
When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released, and I wanted to make sure city residents were receiving the very same quantity of investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has historically been a middle-class problem due to the fact that Black communities have actually had to live in survival mode, however Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with the people I required to connect with in order to make this collaboration effective.
To read more about WeSolar, go to wesolar.energy
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I was at a community meeting with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar movement. To be able to offer an item that will conserve our community up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative.
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced communities inexpensive access to local neighborhood solar and to help business homes with energy effectiveness. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released, and I wanted to make sure city citizens were getting the same amount of investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has actually traditionally been a middle-class problem because Black communities have actually had to live in survival mode, but Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with the people I required to link with in order to make this collaboration successful.