School Sisters of Saint Francis goes solar
Panels will provide 12% of facility’s power, save almost 16M pounds of carbon dioxide
The Milwaukee branch of the School Sisters of Saint Francis said Wednesday it has contracted for the installation of a nearly $1 million solar-panel array on its Sacred Heart building at 1545 S. Layton Blvd.
Plymouth-based Arch Electric will install the more than 1,000-panel array.
The building is a retirement and health care home that provides comprehensive nursing care through a collaboration between School Sisters and Milwaukee nonprofit Community Care.
The project, estimated to cost $950,000, is expected to be completed this fall and would provide about 12% of the electricity consumed at the facility.
“This solar energy project will enable us to lessen our energy consumption and to invest in our care of the earth,” Sister Carol Rigali, coordinator of the
congregation's U.S. province leadership team, said in a statement. “It is very much in keeping with the way that our province is living out our congregational direction by joining with others to raise a common voice for the good of all creation.”
Lower costs are making solar energy a more accessible option for institutions such as the School Sisters of Saint Francis.
Costs for solar panels have decreased 85% over the past decade, said Tyler Huebner, executive director of Renew Wisconsin, a solar energy advocacy nonprofit. The lower costs, along with better solar technology, are making the industry more popular for investment.
The congregation expects to recoup $1.5 million over 25 years on the investment, Rigali said. The project should save 15.9 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, she said.
“The congregation understands the global climate, the energy debate, and the need to educate both the population they serve and the greater audience with whom they minister about clean, renewable, and affordable energy," said Ed Zinthefer, president of Arch Electric. "Today, almost anyone with an open roof space can benefit from solar energy.”
Arch Electric is working on the project with Madison-based Legacy Solar Co-op, which facilitates community solar projects that focus on consumer-based energy savings. Seraphim Solar USA Manufacturing Inc. of Jackson, Miss., will supply the panels.
Along with its own workforce, Arch Electric will use participants of the Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps to help install the panels. The service corps, based in southeastern Wisconsin, connects teens and young adults from disadvantaged populations with job opportunities.
School Sisters of Saint Francis is an international organization of Catholic sisters operating in Latin America, Europe and India along with their U.S. location in Milwaukee.