Leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee are celebrating a visible demonstration of creation stewardship with a ribbon-cutting of their solar + storage system at the Diocesan House in West Knoxville.
“Since the days in the Garden of Eden, our first call has been to be stewards and keepers of this earth.” Bishop Brian Cole told the Episcopal staff and volunteers gathered Tuesday from various churches who make up the Carbon Neutral Task Force. “As we continue to see and experience the effects of climate change here in East Tennessee and across the globe, it has become all the more imperative for us to invest in local, grassroots initiatives to address climate change.”
Renewable energy is now running most day-to-day operations at the Episcopal Diocesan House in Knoxville, with a state-of-the-art battery energy storage system providing backup for critical loads during a grid power outage. This solar photovoltaic system, along with other energy-efficiency efforts, creates significant new monthly savings on electric bills. The organization intends to use these savings to help small Episcopal churches in the area with their own energy-efficiency projects.
Volunteer Courtney Shea leads the Carbon Neutral Task Force, saying, “I am very excited about the solar installation at the Diocesan House as an example of how to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. I am especially looking forward to the establishment of a Carbon Neutral fund for small churches in our diocese with the utility savings. The Carbon Neutral Task Force has been compiling information on best practices. Coupling information and support with funding will help smaller churches take on improvements to lighting and weatherization, which improve energy efficiency in our buildings, resulting in better air quality and lower energy costs. WooHoo!”
The solar + storage project brings the Episcopal Church in East Tennessee closer than ever to its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. The system offsets an estimated 46.7 metric tons of carbon.
For more information, contact Brother Andrew Aelred Morehead, OC at amorehead@dioet.org or 865-966-2110.
Anne Brock-Rankin is Marketing Coordinator for Knoxville-based Solar Alliance. You can reach her at abrock@solaralliance.com.
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