Peace Lutheran in Alexandria Installs 189 Solar Panels

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

Church leads by example going green, displaying how a community can make a big impact for the future.  

This church is taking action! The Peace Lutheran Church in Alexandria in northern Virginia has undergone a massive project to add solar panels to its roof. The John Clark Solar Project worked with Ipsun Solar to install 189 solar panels on the church’s roof and was completed recently.  

The new 60.48W solar installation will generate clean, renewable energy, reducing the church’s carbon footprint as well as helping to spread awareness about solutions to climate change.  

The project is a key component in the congregation’s envisioned part of the “Peace for the Future” campaign, in which they allocated part of their pledge toward Care for Creation. The project has been made possible because of the congregation’s generosity in both monetary donations and the time commitment from several members — particularly Ardell Hoveskeland, who has rigorously researched and analyzed this project.  

Peace’s solar roof is dedicated to the biggest advocate for this project, John Clark, in honor and in memory of him. The John Clark Solar Initiative is a testament to Peace’s commitment to be a good steward of God’s creation. It is also a testament to their hope for the future – a future in which God’s children prioritize care for our planet, and a future in which we are able to gather together again to praise God under one roof. 

The new roof’s energy will be the fossil fuel equivalent to taking 280 cars off the road, saving 3,148 barrels of gas and planting 34,710 trees. The church expects to recoup the $150,000 bill in about 10 to 12 years' time, but the immediate payoff of showing the congregation cares about future generations and caring for our earth is already huge.  

“Not to sound like a cheesy pastor, but it’s about love,” Pastor Sarah Scherschligt tells NBC Channel 4, Washington. “It's about saying to the world: this church cares about science, it cares about people, it cares about the future.”  

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Photo credit: NBC Channel 4, Washington