Solar for Your Congregation: Webinar Recording

Many people don’t realize that houses of worship may still qualify for a federal “direct pay” incentive that can cover up to 40% of the cost of a solar project. The key is timing.

Earlier this fall, MassIPL hosted “Solar for Your Congregation,” a webinar on the federal direct pay incentive, which can cover 30 to 40 percent of a house of worship’s solar project, provided the system is connected to the grid by December 31, 2027. In this video, MassIPL President Jim Nail and Solar Advisor Alan Sherman share how their own congregations went solar. David Kleinschmidt of New England Clean Energy, MassIPL’s newest solar partner, then walks through the financials and a realistic project timeline, which can easily stretch from February to October even without unexpected issues. Jerry Sharfstein and David Johnson of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Rockport describe winning approval from their town’s Historic Commission for their 1829 building and completing the IRS paperwork.

As you will discover in the video, the message from all of the presenters was clear: the opportunity is real, but projects take time, so congregations should start now.

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Go Deeper

• Explore our Solar for Sacred Spaces guide to learn how congregations save, pay for solar, and use federal incentives.
• Read “6 Common Reasons Organizations Delay Going Solar (and How to Overcome Them),” an article by MassIPL Executive Committee member Alan Sherman.