“It is in hope of God’s promised fulfillment that we hear the call to justice; it is in hope that we take action. When we act interdependently and in solidarity with creation, we do justice.”
-ELCA

St. Mark Lutheran Church & Preschool is proud to be a solar-powered community, having energized our new PV system in the autumn of 2021. As part of our mission to care for creation, we switched our primary power supply from grid-based gas and coal-power to renewable energy provided by a 63.7 kW solar array. The system will offset 80% of St. Mark’s annual electricity needs while abating over 2,600,000 lbs. of CO2 emissions and saving St. Mark approximately $116,700.00 over the next 25 years. While the system has a planned life of 25 years, we anticipate these savings to be much greater, as it is likely to operate for 30-40 years once installed. To further ensure sustainability, the project already has an end-of-life panel recycling program in place when the system needs to be decommissioned. As of construction, this system is the largest non-profit owned-and-operated solar array in the City of Charlottesville and among the largest in the state of Virginia.
We are proud to have worked many local community partners to make this project happen: The solar system was designed and installed by SunDay Solar, a local company that has been operating in Charlottesville since 2010. With a total system cost of just over $140,000, the project was financed in partnership with UVA Community Credit Union and was further supported by a grant of $55,000 from the Virginia Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP). Locally headquartered renewables developer Apex Clean Energy also announced a donation of $2,500 towards the system through its newly created community solar non-profit grant program.

“It is our Christian responsibility to do everything we can to protect God’s creation. We see this project as a ministry to love our neighbors and community.”
-Pastor Viktoria Parvin

For local press and additional photos, see the following links: