With the help of a grant from the PGE Renewable Development Fund and Green Future℠ customers, CCS now has a full solar array on the roof of our Bishop Steiner Building on Portland Road.
“Our new solar array went live on May 31, and we are very excited that a clean energy source is now generating 15-20% of our electrical power,” says CCS CEO Josh Graves. With an expected annual output of 32,985 kWh, the array will decrease our carbon footprint for years to come, enabling CCS to realize our commitment to the Catholic Social Teaching on environment, which calls us to take care of God’s creation. “As Catholics, we see the environment as a gift to be tended as the support system of each and every human life,” says Graves. “As a social justice organization, we are aware that the neighborhoods, occupations, and means of vulnerable populations can result in a more direct dependence on environmental factors and an increased susceptibility to the harmful effects of climate change, including extreme weather, toxic pollutants, and food and housing insecurity.”
PGE RDF selected CCSF as a solar grant recipient for its dedication to serving vulnerable populations and its ability, in tandem with its Portland Road and other partners, to reach and include underserved populations in a renewable energy project.
“Generating solar energy is a way for us to acknowledge that we operate in an environmental context that is bountiful but finite,” says Graves. “A long chain of decisions and actions, both small and large, have contributed to this project. As we benefit together, we are reminded of our individual and collective ability to create change.”
The PGE Renewable Development Fund is entirely funded by a community of more than 225,000 Green Future℠ customers who actively choose to support local, renewable energy by electing to pay a little more toward their energy bill each month. Since 1999, PGE Green Future℠ customers have helped fund more than 16.6 Megawatts of new, local renewable energy generation. Click the button below to see our real time generation data.