Placentia Presbyterian Church, serving its community in Southern California for 113 years, recently installed solar panels, showcasing their commitment to environmental stewardship and community service.
Placentia, CA - Monday, November 3 – Yesterday, Placentia Presbyterian Church, in partnership with RE-volv, hosted a solar celebration marking the completion of two new solar systems across two church buildings, totaling 73 kW of clean energy capacity and 57 kWh of battery storage.
With 180 panels installed, the church will now generate the majority of its electricity on-site and is projected to save more than $466,000 on energy costs over the systems’ lifetime that they will reinvest into environmental and social justice programs. The addition of battery storage will enable the church to store solar power for use in the evening and during outages, enhancing its ability to serve as a reliable community resilience hub during emergencies. The church will also avoid emitting 4.2 Million lbs. of CO₂ over the system’s lifetime, equivalent to emissions from nearly 5 million miles driven by a gasoline-powered passenger car.
“Today’s solar celebration is an incredible milestone in our congregation’s goal to live generously for the people and our planet,” said Placentia Presbyterian Church’s Pastor Ryan Romberg. “Through installing solar panels, the money we save on lowered energy bills by generating our own power will go directly to our community-serving missions, such as combating local food insecurity and helping provide transitional housing to our unhoused neighbors.”
The celebration included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and brief remarks from church and community leaders, including Placentia Presbyterian Church’s Pastor Ryan Romberg and RE-volv’s Community Programs Manager, Ingrid Morales.
RE-volv, a national nonprofit that develops and finances solar projects for community-serving nonprofits, provided the church with a 25 year loan for the solar and storage system. The loan from RE-volv required no up-front payment and will start saving the church immediately on their energy bills.
“RE-volv is proud to support Placentia Presbyterian Church’s solar energy journey as they work towards their environmental stewardship and social justice goals,” shared Andreas Karelas, Executive Director of RE-volv. “Placentia Presbyterian Church’s partnership with RE-volv illuminates how accessible funding for clean energy projects can create a ripple effect of positive community impact.”
Through this celebration, the congregation aims to inspire other houses of worship and members of their community to pursue affordable, reliable, solar and storage solutions which benefit the local community through economic savings, job creation, and air quality improvement.
About Placentia Presbyterian Church
PPC is a generous, inclusive church, rooted and growing in the way of Jesus, loving one another and serving our communities. Our Mission is to engage all ages to joyfully follow Jesus together. Learn more at ppc.church.
About RE-volv
RE-volv is a clean energy access nonprofit with a mission to advance sustainable economic development in underinvested communities by facilitating, financing, and raising awareness of equitable clean energy and climate resilience solutions. To date, RE-volv has developed and financed over 125 nonprofit solar projects in 19 states, collectively saving them $35+ million on their electricity bills, allowing them to better serve their 200,000 beneficiaries, and avoiding over 100,000 tons of CO₂ emissions. Learn more at re-volv.org.
