Renewable Power Perspectives Q&A with Kristal Hansley, Founder & CEO of WeSolar, Inc.
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$17.99 (as of 19:10 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)I was at a community meeting with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the community solar movement. To be able to use a product that will conserve our community up to 60% on their energy costs is transformative
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WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced communities inexpensive access to local community solar and to assist commercial homes with energy effectiveness. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced and I desired to ensure city homeowners were getting the very same quantity of investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has historically been a middle class concern 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 people I needed to link with in order to make this collaboration successful
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Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc. and is the nations first Black Woman CEO in the neighborhood solar industry. Under her management, WeSolar is growing rapidly, offering customers across Maryland access to economical solar energy, despite house type and assisting hard-working households lower monthly expenses
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What inspired you to begin your company?
I was at a community conference with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar motion. I started showing how greater earnings communities and individuals in the suburbs were taking advantage of this and received a load of support. To be able to offer an item that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative
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Tell us about your business? (mission, partners, areas you operate in, main consumers, and so on).
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods inexpensive access to regional community solar and to help business residential or commercial properties with energy efficiency. WeSolar introduced in Baltimore and will expand to other cities in the future. Through WeSolar, electricity consumers can purchase shared solar from a local job without having to install any devices in their houses. In turn, locals save hundreds on their electricity costs. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that mentions 50 percent of its electrical energy should originate from sustainable energy sources by 2030
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What challenges do you deal with? Why?
To a neighborhood that is currently facing numerous pressing difficulties, convincing them that there is another one simply as essential is extremely difficult. I remember attempting to discuss community solar to my friends and the conversation quickly rotating to real estate. The reality of the matter is, institutional racism and injustice is bigger than we understand and it drowns our neighborhood. Where Black individuals are not being invested in, we are being asked to prioritize continuously for our survival
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By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
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The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is thrilled to share the first installment in our “Ask an Accelerate Member” blog series. Each installation will include among ACOREs Accelerate member business. August is National Black Business Month, so this month we are concentrated on Black-owned renewable resource companies
Please share with us a recent business success story.
A very personal 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 stitched into my really being. When I initially relocated to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released and I wished to guarantee city residents were getting the exact 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 full circle. Eco-friendly energy has actually historically been a middle class problem since Black neighborhoods have actually needed to live in survival mode, but Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and linked me with individuals I needed to get in touch with in order to make this partnership effective
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