Church has solar panels installed to cut costs, further environmental mission

Members of Joy Lutheran Church in south Tulsa expect solar panels installed on their church roof in December will cut their energy bill by 25 percent and further their goal of being environmentally responsible.

"If this is something we can do to consume less and leave the world a better place for the next generation, then that's a good thing," said the Rev. Nathan Allen, pastor.

"We're all part of this world that God gave us, so let's care for it."

Allen said environmental stewardship has been adopted as one of the core values of the congregation, and that the solar project is part of that emphasis, along with recycling, upgrading to high efficiency heating and cooling systems, discontinuing the use of Styrofoam and converting to energy-efficient light bulbs.

Sun City Solar Energy in Tulsa installed 27 solar panels on the south-facing roof of the church the week before Christmas.

Pam Speraw, co-owner of Sun City with her brother Garret Roth, said the panels will generate an average of 6.9 kilowatts of energy per hour, for an average of 5.2 hours a day in Tulsa.

She said the system is tied into the electrical grid and will spin the electric meter in reverse when the panels are producing more energy than the church is using at that time.

The panels are expected to cut the church's electric bill of $800 to about $600. The church is all electric, with a heat pump.

Over their 30-year life, the panels are expected to save about $100,000 in 2013 dollars.

Speraw said the use of solar energy in Oklahoma has exploded in the past three years as the cost of solar panels has dropped. Sun City has been in business since 1986 and also has offices in Oklahoma City, Texas and Arkansas.

Allen said Joy Lutheran's solar project was paid for with a $25,000 grant from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Mission Investment Fund, which has environmental stewardship as one of its goals.

The panels were installed as part of a larger project, a $300,000 addition that includes a garage and meeting and education rooms that are technologically equipped for video conferencing.

Installing the panels at the same time made more sense than retrofitting them later, Allen said.

One of the hurdles in moving toward energy-saving changes, Allen said, is convincing members of a church to make an investment that will take years to pay off.

Building costs and maintenance are a major part of most church budgets, he said.

"People love that," she said.