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 pleased to share the first installation in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog series. Each installation will include industry leaders and topics associated with speeding up an equitable and just transition to a renewable resource economy. In recognition of National Black Business Month, our August blog site is the very first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member companies are flourishing in the eco-friendly energy sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the nations very first Black female CEO in the neighborhood solar market. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing quickly, supplying customers throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia access to affordable solar power, despite house type, and helping hard-working families minimize regular monthly costs.
What inspired you to start your business?
The stark reality that most of households who were getting eco-friendly energy incentives were higher earnings. I remember learning this and believing there needed to be a way to resolve this space. I saw there was a problem. I had my own concepts on how to solve it, and I wished to have firm over my own decisions. I was at a neighborhood meeting with 50 Black ladies organizers who were not invested in the community solar motion. It felt like a lightbulb had actually turned on for me when I began to describe how vital and immediate it was for us to be a part of the solar motion. I started showing how higher-income communities and people in the residential areas were benefiting from sustainable tax rewards and had actually received a lots of support. The truth is, energy use impacts Black family spending plans significantly. 36% of Black homes experience a high energy concern, indicating they invest over 6% of their earnings on home energy costs. Thats a massive portion. To be able to use a product that will conserve our community as much as 60% on their energy bills is transformative.
Inform us about your business?
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods inexpensive access to regional community solar and to help commercial homes with energy effectiveness. WeSolar launched in Baltimore and will broaden to other cities in the future. Through WeSolar, electrical energy customers can acquire shared solar from a regional job without needing to install any devices in their homes. In turn, residents save hundreds on their electrical energy bills. In Maryland, lawmakers passed legislation that specifies 50 percent of its electrical energy need to originate from renewable resource sources by 2030.
What obstacles do you deal with? Why?
To a community that is already dealing with so many pressing challenges, convincing them that there is another one just as crucial is really difficult. I keep in mind trying to describe neighborhood solar to my good friends and the discussion quickly pivoting to real estate.
Please show us a recent business success story.
A very individual success story for me is cultivating a collaboration with Maryland United Baptist Missionary Convention, Inc. I matured in a Baptist church in Brooklyn where my cousin was the pastor, and my mommy was an organizer– community was sewn into my really being. When I initially relocated to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released, and I desired to guarantee city citizens were receiving the 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 complete circle. Renewable energy has actually historically been a middle-class issue because Black neighborhoods have needed 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 get in touch with in order to make this collaboration successful.
To read 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 community solar movement. To be able to use a product that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods cost effective access to regional community solar and to help business residential or commercial properties with energy effectiveness. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched, and I wanted to ensure city residents were receiving the exact same amount of investment as the county. Sustainable 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 collaboration effective.