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 delighted to share the first installment in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog series. Each installation will feature market leaders and topics associated with accelerating a fair and just transition to a renewable resource economy. In acknowledgment of National Black Business Month, our August blog is the very first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member companies are flourishing in the renewable resource sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the nations very first Black lady CEO in the neighborhood solar market. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing quickly, supplying customers throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia access to budget friendly solar power, despite home type, and assisting hard-working households minimize monthly expenses.
What inspired you to start your company?
The plain fact that the majority of families who were getting sustainable energy incentives were greater earnings. I remember learning this and believing there had to be a method to resolve this space. I discovered there was a problem. I had my own ideas on how to fix it, and I wished to have firm over my own choices. I was at a community meeting with 50 Black females organizers who were not bought the neighborhood solar movement. It felt like a lightbulb had turned on for me as soon as I started to describe how critical and immediate it was for us to be a part of the solar motion. I started demonstrating how higher-income communities and individuals in the suburban areas were making the most of sustainable tax incentives and had actually gotten a lots of support. The fact is, energy usage effects Black family budget plans greatly. 36% of Black households experience a high energy concern, suggesting they invest over 6% of their income on home energy bills. Thats an enormous percentage. To be able to provide a product that will save our neighborhood approximately 60% on their energy costs is transformative.
Inform us about your company?
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced communities affordable access to regional community solar and to assist industrial properties with energy efficiency. In Maryland, lawmakers passed legislation that states 50 percent of its electrical energy should come from renewable energy sources by 2030.
What challenges do you face? Why?
To a community that is currently dealing with so numerous pressing challenges, encouraging them that there is another one simply as essential is extremely challenging. I remember trying to describe community solar to my pals and the conversation rapidly pivoting to housing. The fact of the matter is, institutional bigotry and oppression are larger than we know, and it drowns our community. Where Black people are not being invested in, we are being asked to prioritize continuously for our survival.
Please share with us a recent business 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 first relocated to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced, and I wished to guarantee city residents were getting the exact same amount of financial investment as the county. It was the church that took me in, and the church that then supported my vision– bringing everything cycle. Sustainable energy has traditionally been a middle-class problem since Black communities have actually needed to reside in survival mode, however Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with the people I needed to get in touch with in order to make this partnership successful.
To find out more about WeSolar, check out wesolar.energy
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I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black ladies organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar movement. To be able to offer a product that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget-friendly access to regional community solar and to help commercial homes with energy efficiency. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released, and I wanted to make sure city locals were getting the exact same quantity of financial investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has historically been a middle-class issue since Black communities have had to live in survival mode, however Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with the individuals I needed to connect with in order to make this collaboration effective.