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

By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is pleased to share the very first installation in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog site series. Each installation will include industry leaders and subjects related to speeding up an equitable and just transition to an eco-friendly energy economy. In acknowledgment of National Black Business Month, our August blog is the first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member companies are flourishing in the renewable resource sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the nations very first Black female CEO in the community solar market. Under her management, WeSolar is growing rapidly, providing consumers throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia access to budget friendly solar energy, no matter house type, and assisting hard-working families decrease month-to-month expenses.
What inspired you to start your business?
The plain truth that the bulk of families who were getting renewable resource rewards were higher earnings. I keep in mind learning this and thinking there had to be a way to address this space. I saw there was a problem. I had my own concepts on how to solve it, and I wished to have firm over my own choices. I was at a community meeting with 50 Black females organizers who were not invested in the community solar movement. As soon as I began to explain how crucial and urgent it was for us to be a part of the solar motion, it seemed like a lightbulb had actually turned on for me. I started demonstrating how higher-income communities and individuals in the suburban areas were taking benefit of sustainable tax incentives and had received a heap of assistance. The fact is, energy use effects Black household budgets considerably. 36% of Black homes experience a high energy problem, indicating they invest over 6% of their earnings on home energy bills. Thats an enormous portion. To be able to offer an item that will conserve our neighborhood as much as 60% on their energy costs is transformative.
Tell us about your company?
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced communities affordable access to local community solar and to assist industrial residential or commercial properties 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 local project without needing to install any equipment in their homes. In turn, citizens save hundreds on their electrical power costs. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that specifies 50 percent of its electrical power must originate from renewable resource sources by 2030.
What obstacles do you face? Why?
To a community that is already facing so many pressing difficulties, encouraging them that there is another one just as crucial is extremely hard. I remember attempting to explain neighborhood solar to my friends and the conversation quickly pivoting to real estate.
Please share with us a current business success story.
When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was released, and I wanted to guarantee city citizens were getting the very same quantity of investment as the county. Sustainable energy has actually traditionally been a middle-class problem because Black neighborhoods have actually 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.
To get more information about WeSolar, visit wesolar.energy
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I was at a neighborhood meeting with 50 Black females organizers who were not invested in the neighborhood solar movement. To be able to use an item that will conserve our community up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative.
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced communities inexpensive access to regional community solar and to help business homes with energy performance. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced, and I desired to guarantee city residents were receiving the exact same amount of financial investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has actually historically been a middle-class problem because Black neighborhoods have had to live 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 partnership successful.