The Green Sanctuary Committee, responding to a suggestion from Tom Hackley, recommended in December 2019 that People’s enter into a contract with Helios Solar to purchase a solar system for the church. Because of a tax credit that was available at the time, it was advantageous for Helios, a for-profit company, to install and own the system, while People’s received the generated electricity and any credits earned from returning unused electricity to the grid. People’s paid nothing up front. We pay Helios for electricity generated at a rate slightly lower than what we pay Consumers Energy. We get more than 40% of our electricity from this renewable source. The size of our solar system was limited by state utility regulations. The contract gives us the right to purchase the system from Helios at its depreciated value after December 2024. Solar panels generally last about 25 years before dropping to 85% of their original output, meaning that we can expect ours to be reasonably efficient through 2049.

We are paying Helios $0.1645 per kilowatt hour for the generated electricity, with a 4% increase each year. This will bring the cost to $0.1708 in January. Our present cost for electricity from Consumers is $0.1876, while they credit us $0.1518 for excess returned to the grid through net metering. We’ve been generating about 22,799 kilowatt hours per year, so that the anticipated invoices from Helios in 2026 will total $3894. If we buy the system on December 31, 2025, it will cost $37,408. We can purchase the system on December 31 of any year through 2033 at continued depreciating prices. Helios will maintain the system for an annual contract fee of $250.

We moved quickly to install our system in 2019 to take advantage of the then full net metering rates. We are grandfathered into those rates; today’s rates are tied to wholesale rates paid by the utility and would be much lower. Expanding our existing system would look much different financially. Because of the difference between what we pay for power we purchase from Consumers and what Consumers pays us for excess power we return to the grid, it may be worth-while to add batteries within the next few years to minimize the amount of power we need to purchase.

The proposed purchase reinforces our commitment to move toward net zero carbon emissions at People’s Church, which is consistent with our values. It will provide an 11% return on our money and free electricity after 10 years. By decreasing our carbon emissions, we’ll improve the future for our grandchildren and for other living things on our planet.