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 market leaders and subjects related to speeding up a fair and just 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 flourishing in the renewable resource sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the countrys very first Black woman CEO in the community solar market. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing rapidly, offering consumers across Maryland and the District of Columbia access to inexpensive solar power, no matter home type, and assisting hard-working families decrease monthly expenses.
What inspired you to begin your company?
The stark truth that the majority of homes who were getting renewable energy rewards were higher earnings. I keep in mind discovering this and thinking there had to be a method to address this space. I saw there was a problem. I had my own concepts on how to solve it, and I wished to have company over my own choices. I was at a community meeting with 50 Black ladies organizers who were not bought the neighborhood solar motion. It felt like a lightbulb had actually turned on for me when I began to describe how important and immediate it was for us to be a part of the solar movement. I started showing how higher-income neighborhoods and people in the suburbs were taking benefit of sustainable tax rewards and had actually received a lots of support. The truth is, energy use impacts Black family budgets considerably. 36% of Black families experience a high energy concern, indicating they spend over 6% of their earnings on home energy expenses. Thats a huge portion. To be able to offer a product that will save our community approximately 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
Tell us about your company?
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods cost effective access to regional neighborhood solar and to help industrial residential or commercial properties with energy performance. WeSolar released in Baltimore and will broaden to other cities in the future. Through WeSolar, electrical power customers can buy shared solar from a local job without having to set up any equipment in their houses. In turn, citizens save hundreds on their electricity expenses. In Maryland, lawmakers passed legislation that mentions 50 percent of its electricity must come from eco-friendly energy sources by 2030.
What challenges do you face? Why?
To a community that is already facing many pushing difficulties, persuading them that there is another one simply as important is extremely tough. I keep in mind trying to describe neighborhood solar to my friends and the conversation rapidly pivoting to housing. The fact of the matter is, institutional bigotry and oppression are larger than we understand, and it drowns our neighborhood. Where Black people are not being purchased, we are being asked to prioritize constantly for our survival.
Please share with us a current business success story.
When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released, and I wanted to guarantee city residents were getting the exact same quantity of financial investment as the county. Renewable energy has actually traditionally been a middle-class problem since 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 connect with in order to make this collaboration effective.
To get more information about WeSolar, check out wesolar.energy
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I was at a neighborhood meeting with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the community solar movement. To be able to offer a product that will save our community up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative.
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced communities inexpensive access to regional community solar and to assist commercial residential or commercial properties with energy efficiency. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced, and I wanted to make sure city citizens were getting the exact same amount of investment as the county. Renewable energy has traditionally been a middle-class problem due to the fact that 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 required to connect with in order to make this partnership successful.