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

I was at a community meeting with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar movement. To be able to provide an item that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative
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WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget-friendly access to local community solar and to help industrial homes with energy performance. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced and I desired to ensure city locals were getting the very same quantity of investment as the county. Sustainable energy has historically been a middle class problem because Black communities have 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 partnership effective
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Please share with us a recent business success story.
When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched and I desired to make sure city residents were getting the exact same quantity of financial investment as the county. Sustainable energy has actually historically been a middle class concern because Black communities have had to live in survival mode, but Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with the individuals I required to connect with in order to make this collaboration successful
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By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
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The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is enjoyed share the very first installment in our “Ask an Accelerate Member” blog site series. Each installment will feature among ACOREs Accelerate member business. August is National Black Business Month, so this month we are focused on Black-owned eco-friendly energy business

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Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc. and is the nations first Black Woman CEO in the community solar market. Under her management, WeSolar is growing rapidly, supplying customers across Maryland access to cost effective solar energy, despite house type and helping hard-working households decrease regular monthly expenditures
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What inspired you to begin your company?
I was at a community meeting with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar movement. I started showing how higher earnings communities and people in the suburbs were taking advantage of this and got a ton of assistance. To be able to provide an item that will save our community up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative
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Tell us about your business? (mission, partners, areas you operate in, primary clients, and so on).
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods affordable access to local community solar and to help industrial homes with energy effectiveness. WeSolar introduced in Baltimore and will expand to other cities in the future. Through WeSolar, electrical energy customers can purchase shared solar from a regional task without having to set up any devices in their homes. In turn, locals conserve hundreds on their electricity costs. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that specifies 50 percent of its electricity must originate from eco-friendly energy sources by 2030
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What difficulties do you face? Why?
To a community that is currently facing a lot of pushing challenges, persuading them that there is another one simply as important is very challenging. I remember attempting to discuss neighborhood solar to my buddies and the discussion rapidly rotating to housing. The fact of the matter is, institutional racism and oppression is bigger than we understand and it drowns our community. Where Black people are not being bought, we are being asked to focus on constantly for our survival
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