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

I was at a neighborhood conference with 50 Black ladies organizers who were not invested in the community solar movement. To be able to use a product that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced communities budget friendly access to local community solar and to help industrial residential or commercial properties with energy effectiveness. When I initially moved to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched, and I desired to ensure city residents were receiving the very same quantity of investment as the county. Sustainable energy has historically been a middle-class issue because Black neighborhoods 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 required to connect with in order to make this collaboration successful.

By Constance ThompsonAugust 27, 2021
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is pleased to share the very first installment in our “Accelerating Renewables” blog series. Each installation will include industry leaders and subjects associated with speeding up an equitable and simply transition 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 business are growing 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 neighborhood solar market. Under her leadership, WeSolar is growing quickly, supplying consumers across Maryland and the District of Columbia access to affordable solar power, despite house type, and helping hard-working households decrease monthly expenditures.
What inspired you to start your company?
I was at a neighborhood meeting with 50 Black women organizers who were not invested in the community solar movement. 36% of Black households experience a high energy problem, indicating they invest over 6% of their earnings on house energy expenses. To be able to use a product that will save our neighborhood up to 60% on their energy expenses is transformative.
Tell us about your business?
WeSolars mission is to bring under-resourced neighborhoods budget friendly access to local community solar and to help industrial properties with energy effectiveness. In Maryland, legislators passed legislation that specifies 50 percent of its electrical power need to come from sustainable energy sources by 2030.
What obstacles do you deal with? Why?
To a neighborhood that is already dealing with so many pressing difficulties, convincing them that there is another one simply as essential is very hard. I keep in mind attempting to discuss community solar to my good friends and the discussion rapidly pivoting to housing.
Please show us a recent business success story.
A really 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 mommy was an organizer– neighborhood was sewn into my extremely being. When I initially transferred to Baltimore, the Community Solar Pilot Program was launched, and I wanted to guarantee city homeowners were receiving the same quantity of investment as the county. It was the church that took me in, and the church that then supported my vision– bringing everything cycle. Sustainable energy has actually traditionally been a middle-class problem since Black communities have needed to reside in survival mode, but Reverend Mason and Reverend Dewitt brought me into the circle and connected me with the individuals I required to get in touch with in order to make this partnership successful.
To find out more about WeSolar, check out wesolar.energy
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