Thanks to a timely decision by its Green Team, Kent’s United Methodist Church is now sporting a sizable solar array on six of its roof segments.
Having decided to go green, the committee found itself up against President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which derailed former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Instead of supporting the Inflation Reduction Act’s goal of reducing U.S. emissions by 40% by 2030, the One Big Beautiful Bill set a December 31, 2025, deadline for a 30% residential clean energy credit that was to have run through 2034.
Green Team Chairperson Claire Bank said the church slid in just before the December deadline.
“We'll be getting reimbursed for 30% of the project cost and then an additional 20%, based off of just where we are and how we're doing this,” she said.
The additional 20% comes from state and local provisions, Bank said, acknowledging that she could not specify what those are.
Installation on UMC’s flat roofs was completed June 30, with 281 panels sloping south to catch as much light as possible.
“They're projected to generate 105% of our electricity usage, which we're really excited about,” Bank said.
That 5% can add up. Ohio’s administrative code allows “net metering,” which allows homeowners — and churches — to sell excess energy back to the grid for solar renewable tax credits that can offset future electricity bills.
Besides reducing UMC’s dependence on fossil fuels, the panels will reduce the church’s greenhouse emissions equivalent to 40 gasoline-powered cars driven for one year, she said.
UMC did not provide The Portager with the total cost of the panels and installation, but Bank said the church hopes to make it “back in five or six years.”
Then, she said, UMC’s gifts and memorial committees will be reimbursed for the funds they fronted. After that, money that would have gone to utilities will be dedicated to operating costs.