A Sustainable Future
Lakewood UMC is about to embark on a journey toward making a generational investment in sustainable energy and doing our part to fight climate change.
On July 23, 2023, a special called Church Conference started the process of financing a project that will include solar panels and possibly four electric vehicle charging stations on our campus.
The proposed location for solar panels: the flat roof on the southern part of our facility.
Solar Panels and Electric Vehicle Charging Stations @ Lakewood UMC
We are planning to install solar panels that will provide 110% of our average annual electricity usage and four level 2 Electric Vehicle charging stations.
The proposed location at our church for 2 charging stations that can charge 2 cars at a time.
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Our United Methodist Social Principles are clear about our church’s commitment to care for God’s creation when it says: “The whole earth is God’s good creation and as such has inherent value. We are aware that the current utilization of energy resources threatens this creation at its very foundation.” (¶106) Solar panels will remove our dependence on the less sustainable resources currently used to provide electricity to our church. By installing electric vehicle charging stations we are making a ministry commitment by participating in the ways we can incentivize the use of transportation options that produce less CO2.
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With the help of our consultant, David Chittle of NED Enterprises, we will be applying for grants and rebates that will significantly reduce the overall cost of this project. Here are the brass tacks:
Total Estimated Cost: $287,211
Cost estimate after rebates and grants: $152,647For our Solar Panels, we will be receiving a federal rebate that lowers the installation cost by 40%.
Because of a grant from a state program called Charge Ahead Colorado, the total cost of installation for providing four parking spaces ($38,000) that can charge electric vehicles will be a total estimated net cost of $4,740.
Our hope is to finance this project with our local United Methodist financial partners, the Methodists Helping Methodists Foundation.
Ok, I understand Solar Panels, but why EV Charging Stations?
Electric Vehicles are not necessarily something we see with frequency every day in Lakewood (yet!). But more and more companies like Ford, Toyota, Kia are making both BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles) and PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles). Soon, especially when you consider that in the state of Colorado it is possible to get up to $12,500 in rebates (both State and Federal) on the purchase of an electric vehicle, our streets will be full of electric vehicles.
This ministry will help us provide a place where sustainably generated electricity (our solar panels) will be available to charge the electric cars of our neighbors who are in the area for a period of time, or even be available for our neighbors who don’t have regular access to a charging station (they might live in an apartment complex that doesn’t provide them, or they do not have the funding, initially, to install a charger in their home just yet).
There are not many charging stations currently in our area. The stations we are hoping to install will cost virtually nothing to maintain nor will they use more electricity than our solar panels will generate. It is even possible for our church to receive revenue from these stations if we choose to charge anyone a nominal fee or encourage donations for their use.