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

I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black ladies organizers who were not invested in the community solar movement. To be able to use an item that will conserve our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative
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WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced communities affordable access to local community solar and to help industrial residential or commercial properties with energy performance. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released and I wanted to ensure city homeowners were getting the same amount of financial investment as the county. Renewable energy has historically 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 individuals I required to link with in order to make this partnership successful
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By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
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The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is delighted to share the first installation in our “Ask an Accelerate Member” blog site series. Each installment will include among ACOREs Accelerate member companies. August is National Black Business Month, so this month we are concentrated on Black-owned renewable resource business

Please share with us a recent company success story.
A very individual success story for me is cultivating a collaboration with Maryland United Baptist Missionary Convention, Inc. I grew up in a baptist church in Brooklyn where my cousin was the pastor and my mommy was an organizer– neighborhood was stitched into my really being. When I first transferred to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched and I wanted to ensure city residents were getting 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 everything cycle. Renewable energy has historically been a middle class problem since Black communities have actually had to reside 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
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Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc. and is the nations first Black Woman CEO in the neighborhood solar market. Under her management, WeSolar is growing quickly, offering customers throughout Maryland access to budget-friendly solar energy, regardless of house type and assisting hard-working families decrease monthly costs
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What inspired you to begin your business?
I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black females organizers who were not invested in the community solar motion. I began showing how greater earnings communities and people in the residential areas were taking benefit of this and got a lot of assistance. To be able to offer a product that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative
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Tell us about your company? (mission, partners, areas you run in, main consumers, and so on).
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced communities inexpensive access to regional neighborhood solar and to help commercial residential or commercial properties with energy performance. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that states 50 percent of its electrical power must come from eco-friendly energy sources by 2030
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What difficulties do you face? Why?
To a community that is currently dealing with so many pressing challenges, convincing them that there is another one just as important is really tough. I remember attempting to explain community solar to my friends and the discussion rapidly pivoting to housing.