<\/p>\n
In an effort to improve community connections, River Church in Durango has partnered with a local nonprofit to install a solar panel system.<\/p>\n
Replacing the recurring cost of an electric bill will allow the church to spend more resources on creating opportunities for children, supporting families and working on a homeless outreach program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had the conviction to put panels up for a while, but it\u2019s kind of just been a personal conviction,\u201d said Nick Carico, a teaching pastor with River Church.<\/p>\n
Carico proposed the idea to the church last year and received approval to go forward.<\/p>\n
Instead of paying an electric bill, the cost of that bill will instead be put into a community connection fund set up by the church for outreach programs. The fund will support projects in the community rather than specific church programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe shot for a goal where even with a little loss in production and given some margins, it should wipe out our electric bill (for the most part),\u201d Carico said.<\/p>\n
Over the lifetime of the solar system, the church expects to save about $350,000 in electricity costs. After the church covers its expenses to get the system up and running, it expects to have about $285,000 to put toward community outreach programs.<\/p>\n
In the first year of solar operations, the church hopes to put $12,000 to $15,000 into its community connection fund.<\/p>\n
It takes about seven years to pay off the cost of installation. After that, any money saved on electric costs will go to the community connection fund.<\/p>\n
Installing solar panels can be expensive, but by partnering with Solar Barn Raising, a local nonprofit, the church was able to save about half of its cost, bringing the cost to around $65,000.<\/p>\n
John Lyle, founder of Solar Barn Raising, said about half the cost of installing solar panels is for labor.<\/p>\n
He has developed a volunteer system in which homeowners and organizations looking to use their services can volunteer time for other community members, much like community barn -raisings done by the Amish community in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
He said the key to the nonprofit is requiring participation throughout the process, including helping with two other installations.<\/p>\n
The church and the nonprofit found each other because some church members volunteered on previous projects, Lyle said.<\/p>\n
Carico expects the project to be complete within the next two weeks.<\/p>\n
Fundraising started in April 2018 and took about a month. Efforts included talking to contacts Carico has made as a roofer, small businesses and people at Fort Lewis College.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fundraising was a big step to just build relationships with people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Carico said the biggest \u201cwin\u201d of the project is creating connections.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of great people doing awesome stuff in this community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n