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 installation in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog site series. Each installment will include industry leaders and subjects connected to accelerating a fair and just transition to an eco-friendly energy economy. In acknowledgment of National Black Business Month, our August blog is the first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member companies are flourishing in the renewable resource sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the countrys first Black female CEO in the neighborhood solar market. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing rapidly, offering customers across Maryland and the District of Columbia access to affordable solar energy, no matter house type, and assisting hard-working families decrease regular monthly expenditures.
What inspired you to start your business?
I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar motion. 36% of Black families experience a high energy concern, suggesting they spend over 6% of their income on house energy costs. To be able to provide a product that will conserve our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative.
Tell us about your business?
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget-friendly access to regional neighborhood solar and to assist industrial homes with energy effectiveness. WeSolar released in Baltimore and will expand to other cities in the future. Through WeSolar, electrical energy consumers can acquire shared solar from a local project without needing to set up any devices in their homes. In turn, residents save hundreds on their electricity bills. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that mentions 50 percent of its electricity should come from renewable energy sources by 2030.
What difficulties do you deal with? Why?
To a neighborhood that is already facing numerous pressing challenges, encouraging them that there is another one just as essential is extremely difficult. I keep in mind attempting to discuss community solar to my buddies and the discussion rapidly rotating to real estate. The reality of the matter is, institutional bigotry and injustice are larger than we know, and it drowns our neighborhood. Where Black individuals are not being invested in, we are being asked to prioritize continuously for our survival.
Please share with us a current business success story.
When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced, and I wanted to make sure city homeowners were getting the very same quantity of financial investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has traditionally been a middle-class issue due to the fact that Black communities have had to live in survival mode, however Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and linked me with the individuals I needed to connect with in order to make this collaboration effective.
For more information about WeSolar, visit wesolar.energy
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I was at a community conference with 50 Black ladies organizers who were not invested in the community solar movement. To be able to use an item that will save our community up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative.
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods affordable access to regional neighborhood solar and to assist commercial properties with energy effectiveness. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released, and I wanted to guarantee city residents were receiving the same amount of financial investment as the county. Sustainable energy has actually historically been a middle-class problem due to the fact that Black communities have actually had to live in survival mode, but Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with the people I needed to link with in order to make this collaboration effective.