During the past six months, the congregation raised $100,000 though donations and fundraisers to buy 233 solar panels that will be installed on the church’s roof next week.

More than 40 panels will be engraved with the names of people who donated $1,000 or more to the project.

“We want to be light bearers that share the light with God,” said Jack Groverland, the church’s senior minister. “When we think of light, we think of solar, so this is a very beautiful project to align ourselves with.”

Jack and Janet Root donated $5,000 to purchase five panels, which will be engraved with their names and the names of Jack’s deceased parents and of a family friend who died from cancer.

“It’s about her light living on,” said Janet. “Being a solar panel, I feel like collecting the sun rays is a way for her to stay connected with all of us still living.”

Unity will offset close to 95 percent of its energy use with the solar panels and sell the excess energy to Xcel, the utility provider.

The installation of the panels culminates other energy efficiency and sustainability improvements, such as insulation and recycling that the church has already made to reduce its carbon emissions.

Unity doesn’t think of its theology as a religion but instead as a spiritual conviction, said Groverland. Preserving and protecting the environment reflects the members’ belief that they have a kinship with the environment because everything on earth is a part of God, he said.

Lafayette-based Bella Energy is supplying and installing the solar panels. Despite the church’s tax-exempt status, it was able to receive $60,000 in federal tax breaks by working with Bella Energy to create an entity called Community Solar Partners that would legally own the array.

The church won’t use all of the 60,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year that the array will generate. Xcel has paid $90,000 up front for the excess energy, which will be fed into the grid. It will pay the church $3,000 each year for the next 20 years, according to Paul Williams of Bella Energy.

More than 200 people gave money for the panels and others donated time to raise money during fundraisers.

“People are generous,” said Groverland. “We don’t have any endowments, we operate a hand-to-mouth operation from month to month.”

Community Solar Partners is a unique solar financing program that has taken 3 years to develop. The program was designed to help non-profits and faith communities make critical investments in their infrastructure while reducing the price of investing in solar by about 30 percent. The first solar project financed under Community Solar Partners was recently completed at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, of Denver, CO.

“We see this as part of our calling to be stewards of the resources we have been given…it’s the faithful response out of gratitude for the goodness and beauty of Creation” said Pastor Paul Carlson during a construction party for the recently installed 21 kilowatt solar energy system. Our Savior’s Lutheran looked at installing solar about 3 years ago, but without the advantage of the federal tax credit the cost was simply too high.

Former Director of Colorado Interfaith Power and Light, Diane Dandeneau, developed Community Solar Partners to help Coloradans, who had no solar financing programs available, afford the switch to solar. “After a long unsuccessful search for a non-profit solar financing solution for smaller organizations, we decided that the non-profits in Colorado needed a product like this. It took several years to figure out all the details and find the right financing partners. After seeing the excitement the new solar system generated at Our Savior’s Lutheran, I’m looking forward to helping other non-profits and faith communities start generating their own power.” said Ms. Dandeneau, now Special Programs Manager with Bella Energy.

Available for a limited time only, Community Solar Partners operates like a traditional power purchase agreement, or PPA. The solar energy system is owned by a third party investor who collects the federal tax credit, and eventually, the system can be purchased outright by the non-profit for a significantly reduced price. This financing method is often used for large scale solar energy systems, but wasn’t available for smaller solar energy systems. Thanks to Bella Energy’s Community Solar Partners, there are now options for non-profits looking to invest in green energy.