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 thrilled to share the very first installment in our “Ask an Accelerate Member” blog series. Each installation will feature one of ACOREs Accelerate member companies. August is National Black Business Month, so this month we are focused on Black-owned renewable energy business

Please share with us a recent business success story.
A very individual 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– community was stitched into my very being. When I initially relocated to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched and I desired to guarantee city residents were receiving the exact same amount of financial investment as the county. It was the church that took me in, and the church that then supported my vision– bringing whatever full circle. Renewable energy has traditionally been a middle class issue since 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 individuals I required to connect with in order to make this partnership successful
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I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the community solar motion. To be able to offer a product that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative
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WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget-friendly access to regional community solar and to assist commercial properties with energy performance. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched and I desired to ensure city homeowners were getting the exact same amount of investment as the county. Sustainable energy has traditionally been a middle class issue because Black neighborhoods 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 needed to link with in order to make this partnership successful
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Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc. and is the countrys very first Black Woman CEO in the community solar industry. Under her management, WeSolar is growing quickly, offering consumers across Maryland access to cost effective solar energy, no matter home type and helping hard-working families minimize regular monthly expenditures
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What inspired you to begin your company?
I was at a community meeting with 50 Black ladies organizers who were not invested in the community solar motion. I began revealing how higher earnings neighborhoods and people in the residential areas were taking advantage of this and got a heap of support. To be able to offer an item that will conserve our community up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative
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Tell us about your business? (mission, partners, regions you operate in, primary consumers, and so on).
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget-friendly access to local neighborhood solar and to assist industrial residential or commercial properties with energy efficiency. WeSolar released in Baltimore and will broaden to other cities in the future. Through WeSolar, electrical power customers can purchase shared solar from a local project without having to install any equipment in their homes. In turn, homeowners save hundreds on their electricity costs. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that states 50 percent of its electricity need to come from renewable resource sources by 2030
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What difficulties do you deal with? Why?
To a neighborhood that is currently dealing with so numerous pushing difficulties, encouraging them that there is another one just as crucial is really hard. I remember trying to discuss community solar to my friends and the discussion rapidly rotating to real estate. The reality of the matter is, institutional racism and injustice is bigger than we understand and it drowns our neighborhood. Where Black individuals are not being invested in, we are being asked to prioritize continuously for our survival
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