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

I was at a neighborhood meeting with 50 Black females organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar movement. To be able to provide a product that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy costs is transformative.
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods economical access to regional community solar and to help business properties with energy performance. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released, and I desired to make sure city locals were getting the very same amount of financial investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has actually historically been a middle-class problem since Black neighborhoods have actually had to live in survival mode, however 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 effective.

By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is delighted to share the first installation in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog series. Each installation will include industry leaders and topics associated with accelerating an equitable and simply shift to an eco-friendly energy 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 thriving in the eco-friendly energy sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the nations very first Black woman CEO in the neighborhood solar market. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing quickly, offering customers throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia access to affordable solar power, no matter home type, and helping hard-working households lower monthly costs.
What inspired you to begin your company?
The plain reality that most of families who were getting renewable resource rewards were higher income. I remember discovering this and thinking there had to be a method to resolve this space. I observed there was a problem. I had my own ideas on how to fix it, and I wished to have company over my own decisions. I was at a community conference with 50 Black females organizers who were not bought the community solar motion. When I started to discuss how important and urgent it was for us to be a part of the solar movement, it felt like a lightbulb had switched on for me. I started revealing how higher-income neighborhoods and people in the suburban areas were taking advantage of sustainable tax rewards and had actually received a lots of support. The fact is, energy use impacts Black household budget plans greatly. 36% of Black homes experience a high energy concern, indicating they invest over 6% of their earnings on home energy expenses. Thats a massive portion. To be able to offer a product that will conserve our neighborhood approximately 60% on their energy costs is transformative.
Inform us about your company?
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods inexpensive access to local neighborhood solar and to assist business residential or commercial properties with energy performance. WeSolar launched in Baltimore and will expand to other cities in the future. Through WeSolar, electrical energy customers can buy shared solar from a local project without needing to install any equipment in their houses. In turn, locals save hundreds on their electrical power expenses. In Maryland, lawmakers passed legislation that specifies 50 percent of its electrical energy must originate from renewable energy sources by 2030.
What challenges do you deal with? Why?
To a neighborhood that is already facing a lot of pushing difficulties, convincing them that there is another one simply as essential is really hard. I keep in mind trying to describe community solar to my friends and the discussion quickly pivoting to real estate. The fact of the matter is, institutional racism and oppression are larger than we know, and it drowns our neighborhood. Where Black people are not being invested in, we are being asked to focus on constantly for our survival.
Please show us a recent business success story.
A really 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 very being. When I initially relocated to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched, and I wished to make sure city homeowners were getting the very same quantity of financial investment as the county. It was the church that took me in, and the church that then supported my vision– bringing whatever cycle. Renewable resource has historically been a middle-class concern because Black neighborhoods have actually had to reside in survival mode, however Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with the people I required to get in touch with in order to make this partnership effective.
For more information about WeSolar, go to wesolar.energy
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