Decatur Church goes solar with funds from Inflation Reduction Act

Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, located in Decatur, has officially completed this first month being partially powered through solar with the help of funds from the landmark Inflation Reduction Act and Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL), a group focused on hel;ing communities of faith adopt practical climate solutions. 

The church’s solar system officially went online on Wednesday, July 10, and for the last month, it has been helping produce electricity for the church. 

A spokesperson for GIPL said that over the next 30 years, the solar panels are expected to result in a cost savings of $146,000 and offset 360 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. 

The move is similar to other religious buildings in Metro Atlanta that are tapping into the power of the sun. Hannah Shultz, program director at Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, said that is in part due to the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and included nearly $370 billion for climate change-related funds. 

“The Inflation Reduction Act has been a game-changer for congregations to be able to get solar systems,” Shultz said. “What it has done is create a direct pay mechanism that allows faith communities and other nonprofits to access the tax credits for clean energy projects like solar, wind, geothermal and battery storage.”

She went on to explain that in the past, congregations and nonprofits were unable to take advantage of such tax credits, making the upfront cost of installing a system too big of a hurdle for those who wanted to adopt. Now, Shultz said, congregations can recuperate up to 50 percent of the upfront costs of installing a system, essentially being able to use the tax credits like a rebate.

Rev. Katie Ricks, interim pastor at Oakhurst Presbyterian, said that though she’s only been pastor for a year and a half, the process to go solar has been seven years in the making — and credits the Inflation Reduction Act for finally helping it come to fruition. 

“We realized it was too easy to say yes to; I think the decision was really just about how to pay for it — it was something that the church wanted to do for a long time.”

Oakhurst Presbyterian worked with GIPL through its Solar-Wise program. Within the Solar-Wise program, GIPL acts as a liaison between the congregation, utility provider and solar installers and works to advance solar projects in faith communities, with consultations at nearly every step of the process. The program to-date has completed 23 installations, totalling 540 kilowatts in total capacity and an estimated 3,285 metric tons of carbon offset annually. 

Rev. Ricks said that the congregation’s reaction to the solar system finally being up and running was enthusiastic. 

“They were thrilled, lots of cheering… the congregation is unbelievably excited about it,” Rev. Ricks said, adding that a few Sundays ago the church even did a dedication of the solar panels in worship to emphasize being good stewards of Earth. “We were given creation to take care of, and we’re using the sun — part of creation – to help our church run.”

Oakhurst’s average bill before solar was around $990 per month; its projected average bill after the solar system installation is projected to be around $600 per month, said a spokesperson from Oakhurst. 

Additionally, from the first day of operations to August 14, the solar panels produced 2.76 MWh of electricity, saving 4,282 lb. of carbon dioxide emissions — the equivalent of 32 trees planted, according to Oak Hurst’s Kathy Hancock.

Shultz said that she hopes more congregations and places of worship see others turning towards solar and decide to look into it for themselves. 

“There are over 15,000 houses of worship in Georgia; that’s a lot of buildings, and a lot of energy being consumed in those buildings,” Shultz said. “So we’re really excited to continue to work with congregations to help them assess their facilities and come up with clean energy projects like solar to help them reduce those utility costs and see environmental and financial savings — and because of the Inflation Reduction Act, we think that this is the perfect time for congregations to invest in these green energy projects.”