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

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 include among ACOREs Accelerate member business. August is National Black Business Month, so this month we are concentrated on Black-owned renewable energy companies

I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black ladies 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 expenses is transformative
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WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced communities cost effective access to local community solar and to help commercial homes with energy efficiency. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced and I desired to ensure city residents were getting the very same quantity of financial investment as the county. Sustainable energy has actually traditionally 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 needed to connect with in order to make this collaboration successful
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Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc. and is the countrys first Black Woman CEO in the community solar market. Under her management, WeSolar is growing rapidly, providing consumers throughout Maryland access to cost effective solar power, no matter house type and assisting hard-working households reduce monthly costs
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What inspired you to start your company?
The plain truth that the bulk of households who were getting renewable resource rewards were greater earnings. I keep in mind learning this and thinking there needed to be a method to address this gap. I noticed there was an issue, I had my own ideas to fix it and I desired to have firm over my own decisions. I was at a neighborhood meeting with 50 Black females organizers who were not purchased the neighborhood solar motion. It felt like a lightbulb had actually turned on for me as soon as I started to describe how vital and urgent it was for us to be a part of the solar motion. I began demonstrating how higher income neighborhoods and individuals in the suburban areas were benefiting from this and received a lot of support. The fact is, energy use impacts Black family budgets significantly. 36% of Black families experience a high energy concern, meaning they spend over 6% of their earnings on home energy expenses. Thats a massive percentage. To be able to use a product that will save our community up to 60% on their energy costs is transformative
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Inform us about your company? (mission, partners, regions you run in, primary customers, etc.).
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced communities affordable access to regional community solar and to assist commercial homes with energy efficiency. WeSolar released in Baltimore and will expand to other cities in the future. Through WeSolar, electrical energy customers can acquire shared solar from a regional task without needing to set up any equipment in their homes. In turn, residents save hundreds on their electrical power expenses. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that mentions 50 percent of its electricity need to come from renewable energy sources by 2030
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What obstacles do you face? Why?
To a community that is currently dealing with so numerous pushing obstacles, encouraging them that there is another one simply as important is very difficult. I keep in mind attempting to describe community solar to my pals and the discussion rapidly rotating to housing. The fact of the matter is, institutional racism and oppression is larger than we understand and it drowns our community. Where Black people are not being bought, we are being asked to focus on continuously for our survival
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Please share with us a recent company success story.
An extremely personal 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 mother 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 wished to ensure city citizens were receiving the same quantity of investment as the county. It was the church that took me in, and the church that then supported my vision– bringing everything full circle. Renewable resource has actually historically been a middle class issue since Black neighborhoods have actually had to live in survival mode, but Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with individuals I needed to link with in order to make this partnership successful
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