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 installment will include industry leaders and subjects associated with speeding up an equitable and simply shift to a renewable resource economy. In acknowledgment of National Black Business Month, our August blog site is the very first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member business are thriving in the renewable energy sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the countrys first Black female CEO in the community solar market. Under her management, WeSolar is growing quickly, providing customers across Maryland and the District of Columbia access to affordable solar power, despite home type, and assisting hard-working families reduce month-to-month expenditures.
What inspired you to start your business?
I was at a neighborhood meeting with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the community solar motion. 36% of Black homes experience a high energy problem, suggesting they invest over 6% of their earnings on home energy bills. To be able to provide a product that will conserve our community up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
Tell us about your company?
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget-friendly access to local neighborhood solar and to help industrial homes with energy efficiency. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that states 50 percent of its electrical power should come from sustainable energy sources by 2030.
What difficulties do you face? Why?
To a community that is currently dealing with so lots of pushing challenges, encouraging them that there is another one simply as crucial is very hard. I remember trying to discuss community solar to my buddies and the conversation quickly pivoting to real estate.
Please show us a recent business success story.
An extremely 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 mom was an organizer– community was sewn into my really being. When I first relocated to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced, and I wished to ensure city residents were receiving the exact same amount of investment as the county. It was the church that took me in, and the church that then supported my vision– bringing everything cycle. Renewable resource has actually traditionally been a middle-class problem because Black communities have actually needed to reside in survival mode, but Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with individuals I required to get in touch with in order to make this partnership effective.
To find out more about WeSolar, visit wesolar.energy
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I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar motion. To be able to use a product that will conserve our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods economical access to regional neighborhood solar and to assist industrial residential or commercial properties with energy effectiveness. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released, and I desired to make sure city residents were getting the same quantity of financial investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has actually traditionally been a middle-class concern since 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.