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 community solar motion. To be able to use an item that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods economical access to local neighborhood solar and to assist industrial homes with energy efficiency. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced, and I wanted to ensure city citizens were getting the exact same amount of financial investment as the county. Sustainable energy has historically been a middle-class problem due to the fact that 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 needed to connect with in order to make this collaboration effective.

By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is delighted to share the very first installment in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog site series. Each installation will include market leaders and topics connected 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 first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member companies are thriving in the renewable resource sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the countrys first Black woman CEO in the neighborhood solar market. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing quickly, supplying customers across Maryland and the District of Columbia access to economical solar power, regardless of house type, and helping hard-working families decrease monthly expenses.
What inspired you to start your business?
I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the community solar movement. 36% of Black homes experience a high energy burden, meaning they spend over 6% of their income on home energy costs. To be able to use an item that will save our community up to 60% on their energy costs is transformative.
Inform us about your business?
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced communities economical access to regional neighborhood solar and to assist commercial homes with energy effectiveness. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that mentions 50 percent of its electrical energy need to come from sustainable energy sources by 2030.
What obstacles do you face? Why?
To a community that is currently dealing with numerous pushing difficulties, convincing them that there is another one just as essential is extremely tough. I keep in mind attempting to discuss neighborhood solar to my buddies and the discussion rapidly pivoting to real estate. The reality of the matter is, institutional bigotry and injustice are larger than we know, and it drowns our neighborhood. Where Black individuals are not being invested in, we are being asked to prioritize continuously for our survival.
Please share with us a current business success story.
A very personal 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 mother was an organizer– community was stitched into my really being. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched, and I wished to make sure city locals were getting 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 cycle. Sustainable energy has historically been a middle-class concern because Black neighborhoods have actually needed to live in survival mode, however Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and linked me with the individuals I needed to get in touch with in order to make this collaboration successful.
For more information about WeSolar, go to wesolar.energy
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