Atlanta Friends Meeting Goes Solar

by Judy Lumb and Henry Slack (Photos courtesy of Henry Slack)

For years the Green Friends committee of Atlanta Friends Meeting (AFM) has been suggesting that AFM install solar panels on the roof. In 2021, AFM agreed. Rooftop solar panels are generally installed on a set of brackets mounted on the roof, rather than being attached directly to the roof. This means that it is best to install them on a new (or recent roof). Since the Meetinghouse was due for a new roof, AFM waited until that was completed before putting the solar panels out for bid.

In April of 2022, the solar panels were installed on the roof. The Meeting maintains a fund for building maintenance and capital improvements. The solar panels were paid for from this fund. (Churches may also finance solar panels by renting their roof to a corporation which then installs the panels and sells both the electricity and the tax credits. AFM did not choose that option.)

Members of the Green Friends group have set a long-term objective to stop burning fossil fuels on the property. As furnaces and water heaters fail, we plan to replace them with heat pumps which are more efficient. The true price for burning fossil fuels is being paid by those whose homes have burned in the fires, those who are flooded, farmers facing drought, those who cannot work outdoors during heat waves, and the many others suffering from the effects of climate change.