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

I was at a community conference with 50 Black females organizers who were not invested in the community solar movement. To be able to offer a product that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods affordable access to local neighborhood solar and to help industrial residential or commercial properties with energy efficiency. When I first moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced, and I wanted to make sure city citizens were receiving the very same quantity of financial investment as the county. Renewable energy has actually historically been a middle-class problem since Black communities have actually 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.

By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is happy to share the very first installation in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog series. Each installation will include market leaders and subjects connected to accelerating a fair and just transition to a renewable resource economy. In acknowledgment of National Black Business Month, our August blog site is the very first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member companies are growing in the renewable resource sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the countrys very first Black female CEO in the community solar industry. Under her management, WeSolar is growing quickly, supplying consumers throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia access to budget friendly solar energy, despite house type, and assisting hard-working families decrease regular monthly costs.
What inspired you to begin your business?
The stark reality that most of households who were getting renewable resource incentives were higher earnings. I keep in mind learning this and believing there needed to be a method to address this gap. I saw there was a problem. I had my own concepts on how to resolve it, and I wished to have firm over my own choices. I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black ladies organizers who were not purchased the neighborhood solar motion. Once I began to describe how critical and urgent it was for us to be a part of the solar motion, it felt like a lightbulb had switched on for me. I started demonstrating how higher-income communities and people in the suburbs were taking advantage of eco-friendly tax rewards and had gotten a lots of assistance. The reality is, energy use impacts Black home budgets greatly. 36% of Black homes experience a high energy problem, implying they spend over 6% of their earnings on home energy expenses. Thats a massive portion. To be able to offer a product that will conserve our community approximately 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
Inform us about your business?
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods affordable access to regional community solar and to help industrial properties with energy performance. WeSolar launched 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 electrical energy expenses. In Maryland, lawmakers passed legislation that states 50 percent of its electrical energy should originate from renewable resource sources by 2030.
What obstacles do you deal with? Why?
To a neighborhood that is currently dealing with a lot of pushing difficulties, persuading them that there is another one just as important is very hard. I keep in mind attempting to describe community solar to my pals and the conversation rapidly rotating to real estate. The truth of the matter is, institutional bigotry and injustice are larger than we understand, and it drowns our community. Where Black individuals are not being purchased, we are being asked to focus on constantly for our survival.
Please share with us a recent 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 same amount of investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has traditionally been a middle-class problem since 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 required to connect with in order to make this collaboration effective.
To read more about WeSolar, check out wesolar.energy
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