Energetic church

The congregation of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church says they’re excited to be the first in the city to place solar panels on top of the church roof.

Members of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church announced their plans Sunday to place 52 solar panels on the roof of the church. Once installed, St. Andrew’s Church will receive about 80 cents for every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced from the Ontario Power Authority Microfit program. Over the next 20 years, the church will be able to produce nearly 10 kilowatt of electricity.

Doug Mitchell, one of the leaders of the Go Green project, said once the church reached its 100 anniversary in 2009, the congregation wanted to do something to move the church forward. He thought the solar panels not only fit with the theme of environmental stewardship but would also help provide some revenue to the church.

"As far as we’re aware, we are the first church," Mitchell said. "To be the first ones is great. The main thing is the church is going to benefit and we are doing our part in terms of going green. Anytime you can generate revenue in this day and age is good for anybody really."

It will cost $100,000 for the installation but with the help of a tax refund, the church plans to pay off the cost within 10 years, he said. Once the costs are covered, the solar panels will be able to provide roughly $1,000 a month for the church, he said.

He added they planned to install the panels throughout the month.

Lindy McKeown has attended St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church for more than 60 years. McKeown said she was in support of the project because it meant the church was doing its part to help the environment.

"It’s very exciting," McKeown said. "It shows hope for the future. Having green initiatives is what we would like to see moving today in the sense of looking after the environment. We’re stewards of the Earth."

John Mason, 59, said his family has attended St. Andrew’s for three generations. He said he was happy to see the church start to go greener.

"It’s terrific, really," Mason said. "It’s nice to see people like Doug Mitchell and certain members of the session taking on this role. I think it is an initiative that probably wouldn’t have been thought of 10 years ago. It’s refreshing to see, it really is."