Renewable Power Perspectives Q&A with Kristal Hansley, Founder & CEO of WeSolar, Inc.
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12% OffI was at a neighborhood meeting with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the community solar motion. To be able to offer a product that will conserve our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy bills is transformative.
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced communities cost effective access to local neighborhood solar and to help industrial properties with energy performance. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was introduced, and I wanted to make sure city residents were getting the same amount of investment as the county. Eco-friendly energy has traditionally been a middle-class issue 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 link with in order to make this partnership successful.
By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is delighted to share the first installation in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog series. Each installment will feature market leaders and subjects connected to speeding up a fair and simply shift to a renewable resource economy. In recognition of National Black Business Month, our August blog is the very first in a series highlighting how Black-owned member companies are prospering in the renewable resource sector.
Kristal Hansley is the Founder & & CEO of WeSolar, Inc and is the nations first Black woman CEO in the neighborhood solar market. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing quickly, providing customers throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia access to affordable solar energy, regardless of house type, and assisting hard-working families minimize regular monthly expenditures.
What inspired you to begin your company?
The stark truth that the majority of households who were getting sustainable energy rewards were higher income. I keep in mind learning this and thinking there had to be a way to address this gap. I observed there was an issue. I had my own ideas on how to resolve it, and I desired to have agency over my own choices. I was at a community meeting with 50 Black ladies organizers who were not bought the neighborhood solar movement. As soon as I started to describe how vital and urgent it was for us to be a part of the solar motion, it felt like a lightbulb had actually turned on for me. I started demonstrating how higher-income neighborhoods and individuals in the residential areas were benefiting from sustainable tax incentives and had gotten a heap of support. The reality is, energy use impacts Black household budget plans greatly. 36% of Black homes experience a high energy problem, suggesting they spend over 6% of their income on home energy costs. Thats an enormous portion. To be able to use a product that will save our neighborhood approximately 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
Inform us about your company?
WeSolars objective is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget-friendly access to regional community solar and to assist business properties with energy performance. In Maryland, lawmakers passed legislation that states 50 percent of its electricity need to come from sustainable energy sources by 2030.
What challenges do you deal with? Why?
To a neighborhood that is currently dealing with so numerous pressing difficulties, encouraging them that there is another one simply as important is extremely difficult. I keep in mind attempting to discuss community solar to my friends and the conversation quickly pivoting to real estate.
Please show us a current business success story.
A really 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 mom was an organizer– community was sewn into my really being. When I initially transferred to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched, and I desired to make sure city citizens were getting the very same quantity of financial investment as the county. It was the church that took me in, and the church that then supported my vision– bringing everything cycle. Renewable resource has actually traditionally been a middle-class concern since Black communities have needed to reside in survival mode, however Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with individuals I required to link with in order to make this partnership effective.
To learn more about WeSolar, see wesolar.energy
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