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

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Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc. and is the nations first Black Woman CEO in the community solar industry. Under her management, WeSolar is growing rapidly, supplying customers across Maryland access to inexpensive solar power, despite house type and assisting hard-working households decrease month-to-month costs
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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. I started showing how higher income communities and people in the suburban areas were taking advantage of this and received a lot of support. To be able to offer an item that will save our community up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative
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Tell us about your company? (mission, partners, regions you operate in, main clients, and so on).
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced communities cost effective access to local neighborhood solar and to help business residential or commercial properties with energy performance. WeSolar released in Baltimore and will expand to other cities in the future. Through WeSolar, electricity consumers can buy shared solar from a regional task without needing to set up any devices in their homes. In turn, homeowners save hundreds on their electricity expenses. In Maryland, lawmakers passed legislation that specifies 50 percent of its electrical energy must come from renewable resource sources by 2030
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What obstacles do you face? Why?
To a community that is already facing a lot of pressing difficulties, convincing them that there is another one just as crucial is really hard. I remember attempting to describe community solar to my good friends and the conversation rapidly rotating to housing. The fact of the matter is, institutional bigotry and injustice is bigger than we understand and it drowns our community. Where Black people are not being bought, we are being asked to focus on constantly for our survival
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By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
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The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is enjoyed share the very first installment in our “Ask an Accelerate Member” blog site series. Each installment will feature one of ACOREs Accelerate member companies. August is National Black Business Month, so this month we are focused on Black-owned sustainable energy business

Please share with us a current business success story.
When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released and I wanted to ensure city locals were receiving the very same quantity of investment as the county. Sustainable 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 link with in order to make this partnership successful
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I was at a community meeting with 50 Black females organizers who were not invested in the community solar motion. To be able to use an item that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative
.
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget friendly access to regional community solar and to assist industrial residential or commercial properties with energy effectiveness. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced and I desired to guarantee city citizens were receiving the exact same amount of investment as the county. Renewable energy has traditionally been a middle class issue because Black communities have had to live in survival mode, but Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and linked me with the individuals I needed to link with in order to make this partnership successful
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