Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick Joins PennEnvironment for Solar Church Tour

We had a great time touring UCC Levittown—an awesome solar-powered church—with Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick on Thursday, January 25th!

PennEnvironment, PA Interfaith Power and Light, and Exact Solar joined UCC Levittown to host the Congressman on a tour of their solar panels and solar hot water system.

Photo by TPIN | TPIN

Houses of worship are great candidates for rooftop solar panels. While people frequent these buildings much less during the week, their panels will still generate power that can be used by the community. And come worship services, congregations can benefit from the clean power and lower utility bills. The United Church of Christ in Levittown is saving $1,000 per year on energy costs, which the church can now repurpose for its food pantry and other programs. Some large congregations anticipate tens of thousands of dollars in savings. 

Beyond the financial benefits, solar panels increase a community’s resilience during extreme weather events. Houses of worship play a significant role in supporting their neighbors and communities during extreme weather. That’s because solar panels and batteries can be independent from the grid, meaning the lights stay on during power outages–critical for houses of worship that provide shelter during emergencies or cooling centers during extreme heat days.

And of course, by going solar, many congregations are living their values as stewards of the earth by doing their part to reduce air and water pollution and tackle climate change.

That’s why it’s so exciting that nationwide, more than 1250 houses of worship have installed solar panels. And with new federal incentives, more houses of worship are now poised to follow their lead.

Photo by TPIN | TPIN

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022 marked a truly historic moment in the US battle to mitigate climate change with the largest investment into clean energy and electrification ever seen in the country. With consumer rebates and tax credits available for solar energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and more, there are more ways for individuals and businesses to take advantage of this federal funding than ever. And for the first time, faith-based institutions and other tax-exempt entities like nonprofits can directly take advantage of these incentives too.

Prior to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, places of worship and other nonprofits were unable to directly take advantage of federal tax credits to support the installation of solar panels. Now, 30% (or more) of the cost of a solar project and installation can be covered by direct pay tax credits from the federal government through 2032.

With these new federal incentives, there’s never been a better time for houses of worship to get their power from above. So we hope houses of worship will follow the lead of UCC Levittown and use IRA incentives to go solar too!