December 16, 2024
Shaw Local
NewsSportsBearseNewspaperObituariesNewsletterWeekend PlansEvent Calendar

Yorkville church adds solar panel awning

By Shaw Local News Network
Members, friends, and community members participated in a Solar Celebration on July 6. The church’s Green Group hosted the event and gathered under the panels for a photo.   PIctured are: back row, Jerry Engelhardt, Fred Gaebler, Gail Gaebler, Ben Moe, Ron Anderson, Brian Bazan; front row, Joe Stablein, Diane Stablein, Anne Engelhardt, Regina Moe, Deanna Bazan.

Church members, friends, and community members participated in a Solar Celebration at Yorkville Congregational United Church of Christ on July 6. The church’s Green Group hosted the event and gathered under the panels for a photo.   PIctured are: back row, Jerry Engelhardt, Fred Gaebler, Gail Gaebler, Ben Moe, Ron Anderson, Brian Bazan; front row, Joe Stablein, Diane Stablein, Anne Engelhardt, Regina Moe, Deanna Bazan. (photo provided by Anne Engelhardt )

Yorkville Congregational United Church of Christ recently added a solar panel awning to the church.

The newly constructed project includes 30 solar panels that will provide energy to cover about one-third of the electrical needs of the church, located at 409 Center Parkway in Yorkville. In addition, the southside rooms of the church are cooler because of the added shade. The panels blend in with the existing roof and architectural lines of the church, which was completed in 1989.

To finance the project, the church was awarded a $10,000 grant from Faith in Place, a nonprofit organization committed to environmental justice. The grant came from Ann Boisclair and Jeffrey Jens. Church members also gave private donations. The church will also receive solar rebates from ComEd based on the number and size of solar panels. Solar Renewable Energy Certificates from the state of Illinois will be paid out over a four-year period to complete the financing.

Independence Renewable Energy from Sandwich engineered the support structure and installed the solar panels. Thirty panels, 410 watts each, are anchored on a 30-degree slope to the building adjacent to the south roof. The panels are estimated to produce 12. 3 kilowatt-hours power (16,890 kWh annually), giving an estimated 29.7% of electricity used by the church.