american farmers have long relied on china’s massive demand for soybean meal, a high-protein animal feed. now, as china turns to brazil and argentina to meet its soybean needs, u.s. farmers are left scrambling to sell their crops. 

“let’s be clear, this is a man-made disaster caused by donald trump and his administration,” soybean farmer john bartman said at a press call hosted by the democratic national committee in october. “why? because there’s nearly 1 billion bushels of soybeans that don’t have a home right now.” 

the scale of the disaster

u.s. farmers will lose roughly $100 per acre this year, according to the university of illinois urbana-champaign. for adam phelon, who planted over 1,000 acres of soybeans on his family farm in melvern, kan., that could mean a $100,000 loss in gross income. 

“it’s been 40 years of market development that’s taken place to get it to where we are, and so having that just eroded away, we can’t just replace that overnight,” phelon said in an interview. “we’re going to see lasting effects for years to come.”

grain market economist ed usset said he’s concerned about the long-term implications of losing china’s business, specifically if china learns it no longer needs the united states to fulfill its soybean needs. 

minnesota gov. tim walz expressed similar sentiments, calling on trump to end the “ridiculous trade war” and recognize the long-lasting damage china’s boycott will have on rural america. 

“the thing we need to keep in mind is it took decades to establish these markets,” walz said during the press call. “china didn’t just sign one-year contracts with argentina. they signed some of them up to a decade long, and it’s going to take us years to get these markets back.” 

in september, argentina temporarily suspended its 26% soybean export tax in an attempt to boost sales. china then purchased 7 million metric tons of argentine soybeans, to the dismay of american farmers. phelon was further angered to see president trump finalize a $20 billion bailout to stimulate argentina’s economy, calling the move “a kick in the pants to farmers.”

soybean oil as a solution

as the united states searches for other export markets for american soybeans, the expanding biofuels market offers a promising opportunity to drive domestic demand — specifically, for soybean oil. 

historically, soybean meal has contributed much more to driving the value of a bushel, according to scott irwin, an agricultural marketing professor at the university of illinois urbana-champaign.

“a rule of thumb was that around two-thirds of the value of a bushel of soybeans could be traced to soybean meal,” irwin said. “that has dropped to 50–55% with the boom in biodiesel and renewable diesel production, particularly the latter.” 

soybean oil can be processed into renewable diesel, a sustainable fuel made from plants or animal fats that is chemically identical to petroleum, but much better for the environment because, like all plants, soybeans absorb carbon dioxide as they grow rather than raising greenhouse gas emissions. 

in june, the environmental protection agency proposed raising minimum volume mandates for the use of different biofuels under the renewable fuel standard (rfs) for 2026 and 2027. the proposal would increase the amount of renewable fuel required to be blended into u.s. transportation fuel, like the diesel fuel truckers use to fill their tanks. 

if the epa proposal becomes a final regulation, it will mandate the highest renewable fuel blending standards in american history. the development would heavily benefit soybean farmers by driving the demand for soybean oil to fulfill the epa’s regulations, irwin said. 

greenhouse gases produced by advanced biofuels stay in the atmosphere for half as long as gases generated from petroleum, irwin said. 

“on that front, surprisingly, the trump administration is encouraging something that’s positive from a greenhouse gas climate perspective,” irwin said.

renewable diesel is considered a “drop-in” substitute for petroleum diesel, said scott gerlt, the chief economist of the american soybean association. from an engineering perspective, that means renewable diesel can be used as a replacement for petroleum diesel without worrying about changing infrastructure or blending levels.

soybean oil’s potential doesn’t stop at the fuel pump. researchers eric cochran and chris williams from iowa state university are taking soybean oil to the roads: their soybean-based asphalt polymer can replace petroleum additives, making pavement both longer lasting and more sustainable. 

the traditional polymer additive used in asphalt is sps, a purely petroleum-based polymer that is rarely manufactured domestically nowadays. a key component of sps called butadiene can also be hazardous to handle, cochran said. soybean oil, on the other hand, reduces reliance on petroleum products while supporting the domestic soybean market.

“making your pavements last longer means less raw material, less energy, less fuel needed for all that construction, and then the materials that are going into the pavements become increasingly u.s. agriculturally sourced,” cochran said.

cochran said the product is currently being manufactured across the united states and sold to county engineers, contractors, asphalt terminals, and oil refineries. over the next year, homeowners can look out for do-it-yourself products for roofing and driveway maintenance.

in the meantime, the trump administration is expected to announce a relief plan of at least $10 billion for farmers hurt by tariffs. still, farmers have said the temporary fix doesn’t provide what they actually want, and what soybean oil might give them a chance to do: to compete fairly in the global marketplace. 

“this is our livelihood. we need to make sure that we have a place to go with our soybeans,” phelon said. “that’s the number one goal. we want to feed and fuel the world, and without trade around the world, we’re not able to do that.”

“i’m glad i was able to participate in the training of solar entrepreneur as part of the community solar program from my village. my work is recognized in the village and people look up to me with respect when they know of my work. but i can’t ignore my household responsibilities and take up this work as a full-time occupation. even since my husband fell ill, i have had to leave the work of a solar entrepreneur and focus on my household and our agricultural work.”

these were the words of one of the interviewees of my field study in jharkhand, india, regarding the impact of the community solar program on beneficiary households. her comments represent the hidden cost of solar energy implementation in rural communities that are geographically remote, not connected to the grid, politically neglected, and economically marginalized.

in 2024, i spent a month in the dumardih panchayat of gumla block in gumla district of jharkhand, india, conducting an ethnographic field study on the distributional impacts of one such community solar program implemented by bindi international. 

the village population of dumardih panchayat consists of indigenous (tribal) households and non-tribal households that have historically depended on agriculture for their livelihood. however, non-tribal households are relatively well off compared to tribal households; furthermore, tribal communities rely on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood and reside in more remote locations away from the main village. as such, there are ethnic divisions between these two groups.

the beneficiary households are spread across tribal and non-tribal ethnicities. the geographical remoteness of tribal households further exacerbates their challenge to access, electricity, education and healthcare services compared to other households who are economically relatively well-off, have access to resources, and have higher power in decision making in community matters.

solar for rural communities in india

the dominant story of solar in rural india often emphasizes numbers: how many households have been electrified, how many watts of solar are installed, how many hours of additional study children get at night, and how much indoor air quality improves. the beneficiary households see reduced indoor air pollution, additional light hours, increased safety, and better sense of well-being. 

solar energy was first introduced in gumla district in 2015 by a non-governmental organization called mlindia with financial support from the indian renewable energy development authority (ireda) (kumar, m., 2022). the first program was a solar mini-grid (20 kw – 40 kw) installed for 44 villages for a total combined capacity of one megawatt (kumar, m., 2022). gumla district has been one of the aspirational districts in the country out of the 112. the categorization is based on literacy rate, health, nutrition, basic infrastructure, and poverty level in the district (green and kapoor, 2023). this has been the driving factor for setting up solar power base programs to reduce the challenges with last mile connectivity in the district and provide opportunities to set up rural enterprises, and boost livelihood (kumar, m., 2022). 

one such organization is bindi international association. the organization was established in 2015, with the aim of empowering rural women across india and contributing to the achievement of the united nations’ sustainable development goals. this focus informs their approach to providing financial independence to rural women: bindi international provides training in digital literacy, marketing, and banking to enable women in remote areas to participate in the rapidly evolving digital world. 

their community solar program model provides electricity access to non-electrified and under electrified households. the program also provides skill training on solar technology to rural women and has established women as key players in delivering renewable energy solutions to remote communities. bindi international identified mahila vikas mandal (mvm), a grassroots non-governmental organization that creates and supports women-led self-help groups as the ground partner for implementation. the organization selected beneficiaries based on a survey of households able to pay an up-front, one-time payment of inr 1000. the households were also required to pay inr 150 per month as a deposit towards a corpus fund created to finance the operation phase of the program. this fund is managed by a village energy and electrification committee (veec), composed of beneficiary household members. the home lighting system consisted of a 40-watt system (a battery pack, four bulbs or two bulbs and a ceiling fan).

the bindi international team designed the program based on consultations with the village community, including a committee representing the beneficiary households. this committee oversees several aspects of the program, including paying the trained women for repair services, replacing parts, and appropriating funds to scale up the system. the program introduced a new culture of ownership, management, and use of solar energy for lighting and cooking that was not present earlier.

however, data from the study showed that women who were trained in the installation, repair, service, market, and sale of new solar products bear the burden of responsibility of solar intervention falling on women, exacerbating existing inequalities in the gendered division of labor within these communities. this is the hidden cost of solar technology based intervention in rural communities. in the rush to adopt a clean energy society, we are overlooking the unequal burden of labour across gender created by such community renewable energy programs.

an uneven burden

my ethnographic study revealed an amnesia in energy scholarship and policy: nobody wants to talk about how the burdens of transition fall unevenly, often along lines of gender. gendered expectations of labour, cultural norms regarding decision-making, and marginalization based on income and ethnicity disproportionately impact marginalized women.providing clean energy through solar home systems gives rural households the power to control their energy supply. but although it represents progress in some ways, the transition from kerosene to solar energy does not automatically dismantle the social, and economic inequalities that shape women’s everyday lives. limited access to resources, limited role in decision making makes its way into design, implementation and operation of community energy programs. 

a woman could be trained in solar technology, confident in marketing and maintaining a system, and yet be bound by the rules of culture and tradition. her entrepreneurial work is not a replacement for household duties but an addition to them. she provides food, tends to children and elderly, and ensures household provisions are in adequate supply while also taking on the new responsibility of promoting renewable energy.

my study of this program in gumla district of jharkhand showed that community renewable energy projects cannot be based on an additive framework of renewable energy plus gender equity and social justice. it is an integrated framework, where existing gender divisions of labor and social inequality across ethnicity shape the access and use of resources across households, which in turn determines the extent of benefits derived from a beneficiary household in a community solar program. energy is political, cultural, and deeply personal. the solar entrepreneurs of jharkhand show that even well-intentioned energy projects can risk reinscribing existing inequalities in rural communities.

in burundi, more than 90% of the population depends on firewood and charcoal for cooking, according to the african energy commission. the country of just 27,830 square kilometers (approximately 11,000 square miles) is bordered by democratic republic of congo, rwanda, and tanzania in east-central africa. because there has been no other option for fuel, communities cut swaths of trees daily. this incremental deforestation then leads to environmental issues such as land degradation.

delphin kaze, who in 2017 was a first-year student in environmental sciences at the polytechnic university of gitega, in burundi, was passionate about protecting nature. during a school field trip, he found out the stark reality of widespread deforestation, as trees were disappearing daily just to keep families fed. 

“initially, i got an idea of transforming waste into charcoal because i knew that on all the hills of the country trees were being cut down to obtain charcoal or firewood,” he said. “i understood that an alternative was needed to remedy this problem.”

from agricultural waste to clean energy 

kaze began to research and experiment with turning agricultural waste into briquettes. he tried different materials, looking for a way to produce a cleaner and sustainable charcoal. for a long time, the results were frustrating. but one day, he turned to something familiar, corn cobs. 

“i recalled how in my neighborhood, people sometimes used the corn cobs to cook, despite that they burn by blowing out smoke. that gave me an idea of a good prototype,” he said. “i wondered: what if i could transform these corn cobs into efficient, low-smoke charcoal?”

kaze started working on his idea from home with almost nothing. no dedicated workspace; no funding. only a few hours in the evenings after class, back at home. but he had support from his father, from close friends, and from his own belief that the idea mattered. step by step, he improved the process. and little by little, what started as a series of home experiments began to look like a real product.

people doubted him. many called the idea unrealistic. but kaze kept going for he was committed to finding a solution to deforestation. he talked about his project to anyone who would listen, adjusted his time and expenses, and kept refining his work. he started applying for different opportunities and participating in different innovation competitions, with the main goal of promoting his innovation. eventually, the results spoke for themselves. 

by 2019, he had officially registered his venture as kaze green economy, or kage. while still studying, he turned his small venture into a functioning initiative. in 2020, the united nations development programme (undp) offered support, helping him expand from a manual setup to semi-industrial production. later that year, additional support from undp and burundi’s ministry of energy helped him reach full industrial capacity.

green growth with social impact

today, kaze’s factory recycles different agricultural waste materials — namely corn cobs, rice husks, and coffee husks — and turns them into clean, energy-efficient briquettes called “kabiof” as an alternative to firewood and traditional charcoal for cooking. now kage produces up to 20 tons of that eco-charcoal every day. 

kaze’s initiative has so far created 40 full-time jobs, which makes him proud of the social impact also driven by his initiative. 

“thanks to the idea i developed from scratch, our model not only helps preserve burundi’s forests but also supports dozens of families who supply the raw materials (agricultural wastes),” he said. “around 60 daily workers, many of whom are youth and women, are working in the factory and go back home with an amount of money to meet their family’s needs.”

through this journey, kaze has not only built a business, but also shaped a vision. he believes that young people in burundi have the power to solve real problems when they are supported and encouraged. the passion to protect the environment and to combat deforestation by producing eco-friendly charcoal is proof that environmental change doesn’t have to start with big institutions. it can begin with one person, one idea, and the courage to try. 

now, kaze’s story doesn’t stop at charcoal. as his kage venture grew, he began thinking even bigger. he saw that many rural areas still lacked electricity. so, he planned to expand his focus to rural electrification, using his platform to bring energy, and hope, to communities long left behind.

“what i would urge young people with passion about environment protection is to be committed, to persevere, and especially to focus on what is essential and contribute to finding solutions to community’s challenges,” kaze said. “and i believe that if we really want to see change, we must believe in and support young innovators. the future depends on it.”

editor’s note: the views and information presented herein are those of melchisedeck boshirwa and do not represent the mandela washington fellowship, the u.s. department of state, or irex.

did you know there are over 50,000 charging stations for electric vehicles in the united states? however, with more americans buying electric and hybrid vehicles, many more stations need to be built to keep up with demand. voltpost is a startup that retrofits lamp posts into charging stations for electric vehicles. “we recognize that in order for people to go from gas to electric, they need convenient and affordable charging access,” said jeffrey prosserman, a voltpost founder. they have voltpost stations available to the public in michigan and are hoping to have volpost available in more states in the coming months.

detroit has always been a city of reinvention, and the latest wave of startups at newlab proves that innovation isn’t slowing down. through a partnership with ford’s michigan central, newlab fosters a community of forward-thinking entrepreneurs tackling sustainable mobility. among them is shandoka, an electric motorcycle startup led by ceo ernest eich, who is reimagining two-wheeled transportation. instead of building new electric motorcycles from scratch, shandoka retrofits existing models with eich’s structural adapter — an innovative power solution that replaces combustion engines. this approach reduces waste and accelerates the transition to cleaner transportation.

this shift aligns with the broader goals of a just transition — ensuring that workers and industries impacted by decarbonization aren’t left behind. newlab’s ecosystem provides essential resources, from state-of-the-art tools to industry expertise, helping companies like shandoka scale their greenhouse gas emissions impact. according to the epa, transportation accounts for nearly 29% of u.s. greenhouse gas emissions, and motorcycles contribute to air pollution that exacerbates asthma and heart disease. by transforming existing motorcycles into zero-emission vehicles, eich and his team are designing a product that contributes to a cleaner future.

tucked away behind a catholic organization building in northeast washington, d.c., lies a vast solar farm soaking up the sun’s rays as energy for catholic buildings. 

dan last, the co-executive officer of mission energy, which is partnered with the catholic energies program, helped build this solar farm for catholic charities along with 18 other solar farms for catholic organizations in the washington metropolitan area. but most recently, last said he has been taking screenshots of the united states department of energy websites because of the “uncertainty” president donald trump’s administration has introduced into the industry. 

“rather than going out and trying to give nonprofit organizations equal access to solar and help develop new projects so that i can employ my people, i am a highly paid ceo who is taking screenshots,” last said. 

since taking office, the new york times reported the trump administration has taken down more than 8,000 web pages from across more than a dozen u.s. government websites. this includes more than 3,000 pages from the center for disease control and more than 1,000 pages from the office of justice programs. 

several pages mentioning environmental policy initiatives have also been taken down from the department of the interior website. 

what last is screenshotting in response are energy community maps. last said these are areas “disproportionately” impacted by power production, meaning they are communities surrounded by infrastructure like power plants or mining sites. 

these screenshots last took shows individuals in areas eligible to receive an extra 10% of direct pay for renewable energy projects affiliated with the inflation reduction act.

former president joe biden passed the inflation reduction act (ira) in 2022 which partly helped individuals and businesses receive tax credit if they install renewable energy on their property. for last and his clients at catholic nonprofits at mission energy, the inflation reduction act subsidizes 30% to 50% of the costs for their projects through direct pay. 

“it really was a game changer for nonprofit organizations,” last said. 

on trump’s first day in office on jan. 20, one of 26 executive orders he signed titled, “unleashing american energy,” stopped individuals and organizations from receiving funding for projects like the ones from mission energy. this order still remains in effect.

“all agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the inflation reduction act of 2022,” the executive order stated. 

last said he is not sure what will happen if ira funding completely goes away. but if it stops, the funding of renewable energy projects will shift back towards power purchase agreements, a method organizations used before the ira. these agreements have third party developers pay for renewable energy projects and are paid back from the organizations to investors over a set amount of years. 

“[third party developers] like working with our groups because churches, catholic healthcare systems, religious communities are not going anywhere and in some cases have been around for hundreds of years,” last said in a previous planet forward article.  

third party developers for renewable energy projects are only allowed in at least 29 states and washington, d.c. 

out of mission energy’s 40 completed projects, 26 of them have used a power purchase agreement. since the passage of the ira, only two out of the 14 projects under construction are having a power purchase agreement. all 14 projects are using some ira benefits with 12 of them using direct pay. 

besides working with catholic institutions, mission energy also works with other nonprofits. last said before the ira, most groups chose to go the power purchase agreement route. last year last said only one power purchase agreement was settled for a project.

“i’ll proudly say this as a ceo of a solar company, i think it would be ludicrous to repeal the direct pay,” last said. 

with climate change, it is estimated that iceland’s glaciers will be gone in roughly 100-200 years. “at the first scale, there’s going to be more water because they’re going to be melting quicker,” says dr. caroline sanchez, geologist on the national geographic explorer with lindblad expeditions, “in terms of hydropower, it’s going to be sustainable for the first, we’ll say decades, when you still have enough water but what happens when you don’t have enough water anymore? you’ll just need to adapt.”

luckily, iceland is also a hotspot, both figuratively and literally, for geothermal energy. roughly 27% of iceland’s electricity comes from geothermal power plants. the separating tectonic plates cutting through iceland and the fixed thermal anomaly (aka “hot spot”) under the country provide a sustainable and accessible source of heat, which the country may need to rely on more solely in the future.

in this short documentary, discover how climate change is impacting one of the most unique landscapes in the world, and what that means for the future of electricity production.

editor’s note: lindblad expeditions, our planet forward storyfest competition partner, made this series possible by providing winners with an experiential learning opportunity aboard one of their ships. we thank lindblad expeditions for their continued support of our project.

“leading the charge,” the theme of an april 10 kellogg climate conference at northwestern university, brought together an all-stars cast including leaders from coca-cola, gm energy, start-ups, academics and conservation groups to redefine business strategy in a changing climate.

the mission? counter climate change and find new profit pipelines there as well.

a standing-room-only crowd of business executives, experts, and students explored company examples of innovative and cost-effective climate change mitigation at the all-day conference sponsored by the kellogg school of management’s energy and sustainability club and the trienens institute for sustainability and energy at northwestern.  

meghan busse, associate professor of strategy at the kellogg school of management kicked off the conference with what she called, “a greenhouse emissions breakdown,” in other words, a lively lowdown on the challenges ahead.

according to busse, in the u.s, one-fourth of gas emissions come from electricity generation, one-fourth from transportation, one-fourth from industrial processes, and one-fourth covering both agriculture and buildings. the conference program covered all these sectors and how each one is providing new solutions and innovative technology to decrease emissions.

“our goal of the day is to leave you all feeling armed to become climate capable leaders where you are willing to ask questions and start thinking about no matter what your job is, how does climate plan into my strategy?” said busse.

the incentive to act for companies is linked to the impact on their pockets. climate change is expected to cost u.s. businesses over $1.3 trillion in the next three years. such high stakes have pushed industries around the world to seek massive technological and business transformations. but experts say that refusing to invest is climate solutions will cost even more in losses due to rising costs, resource uncertainties, extreme weather damage, and other factors.

speakers at kellogg conference emphasize solutions

keynote speakers included business leaders across the board to share the specifics their companies have implemented to prioritize sustainability as a core component of strategic decision-making. coca-cola is the number one plastic polluter in the world, according to coke’s executive vp bea perez who took center stage her talk on “navigating sustainability and profitability.” she focused on the importance of accountability, transparency and support from top corporate leaders for a company to move toward sustainability. she asked the audience to envision the size of 120,000 olympic size swimming pools, the pyramid of giza and every single volcano in the world to show the massive amounts of waste that the coca-cola company generates. she emphasized solutions.

businesses and consumers should examine a company’s business and sustainability reports to see if sustainability strategy is embedded into the finances of the company, she said. without that commitment, the measures are irrelevant, said perez, global chief communication, sustainability and strategic partnerships officer at coca-cola.

according to the coca-cola company’s 2022 business & sustainability report, the company aims to “make 100% of our packaging recyclable globally by 2025— and use at least 50% recycled material in our packaging by 2030.” perez explained how water, packaging, and climate goals are interconnected and that by creating a circular economy for packaging, they can lower their carbon footprint.

in their 2022 business & sustainability report, coke claimed that 90% of its packaging is recyclable, 15% of plastic bottles made with polyethylene terephthalate (pet) are recycled, and that 61% of packaging (is) collected for recycling. coke’s innovation of a 100% plant-based bottle prototype is a key component to helping them achieve their sustainability goals. “if you don’t have strong communities, you can’t have strong businesses,” said perez.

infrastructure challenges

at the scaling the energy transition panel, key challenges focused on infrastructure development. shashank sane, a kellogg alum, and evp at transmission invenergy, said that supply chain delays are making it challenging for businesses to amplify the grid system. projects may take up to a decade from supply chain to completion and a major challenge that business owners face is the lack of policy and government support for funding.

at a global scale this sets the u.s behind. for comparison, germany which backed up by government policy, is capable of placing massive national orders for supplies, while business owners in the u.s are limited by their procurement resources. consequently, the lack of infrastructure affects other sectors like the transportation sector.

companies such as nexteramobility which focuses on developing, constructing, and operating power projects to produce electricity are restricted in mass capacity by the infrastructure of grid placements. however, even with the use of a massive electric plant to compensate for fuel, yann kulp, director business development, fleet electrification advisory, argued that having one major source of emissions is better than having millions of sources of emissions, making the carbon capture in one place more manageable.

insight into regenerative farming

the panel seeds of change: cultivating a sustainable future in food and agriculture introduced ancient processes and cutting-edge initiatives as change-makers. sonali lamba, co-founder and executive director of the soil inventory project, brought to light how regenerative farming practices could be a greater part of the solution for fighting climate change and restoring our soils through farming.

regenerative farming, as lamba explained, roots back to indigenous practices. this kind of farming focuses on supporting local farmers and even funding their businesses to incentivize healthier farming practices that avoid pesticides, other chemical and erosion-causing practices that harm both earth and our health.

“why not pay people to do things the right way,” said meera bhat, global director of equitable conservation for the nature conservancy.

this year’s kellogg climate conference brought together an audience of about 300 business leaders and mba students, each with different perspectives on how to decrease their carbon footprint in their business sector. regardless of their business strategy, attendees shared kellogg’s mission that day to educate, strategize and mobilize, for the sake of change.

doris alvarez is a graduate student at northwestern university’s medill school of journalism. 

these huge projects are thanks to the catholic climate covenant, an organization headquartered in washington, d.c., which helps the catholic community understand and act on the issue of climate change.

executive director dan misleh founded the covenant in 2006 after he worked on environmental policy for the u.s. conference of catholic bishops. one of the ways the organization has helped catholic communities act on the issue of climate change is by encouraging community members to install solar panels on their properties to help them save money and lower their reliance on fossil fuels.

for misleh, climate change education is an essential part of the process. he said that when he discusses environmental issues with catholic organizations, he always tries to bring it back to his faith.

“if god has given us a gift, and if we just take that gift and throw it in the trash, that’s not being very respectful to the gift giver,” misleh said.

in recent years, many catholics felt motivated by pope francis’s encyclical letter laudato si’ published in 2015 which established climate change as a moral issue catholics should address. in 2021, pope francis put his plans from the letter into action by telling catholic organizations to launch a seven year plan to create environmentally sustainable efforts within their communities.

but misleh said that when he had the idea to install solar panels on catholic properties, he needed more help. through the covenant, misleh created catholic energies which focuses on the installation of these solar panels with the help of mission energy — a company that works to reduce energy costs through solar panels. misleh said mission energy provides the “expertise” the covenant needs to install solar panels.

dan last, who is the co-chief executive officer of mission energy, said misleh approached him eight years ago with the idea to form a group within their company. he said mission energy was interested in creating catholic energies because they help catholic organizations reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they release and save money.

“there was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around doing work like this,” last said.

laura clark, who is the vice president of operations for mission energy, also said solar panels help the environment because they reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

according to misleh, installing solar panels on catholic buildings has helped them save between a few thousand to over a hundred thousand dollars in their electrical bill since they were installed.

paying for power

these catholic organizations pay to install their solar panels through the help of a power purchase agreement. last said that with this agreement, a third party is responsible for paying for the installation of these solar panels, with the catholic organizations later paying back the third party over a set amount of years.

“[third party developers] like working with our groups because churches, catholic healthcare systems, religious communities are not going anywhere and in some cases have been around for hundreds of years,” last said.

but since the passage of president biden’s inflation reduction act in 2022, last said the amount of money catholic organizations have to pay back to third parties under the power purchase agreement is lower since the federal government is now subsidizing up to 50% of the cost for sustainable projects.

through the work of catholic energies, catholic organizations are finding it easier and cheaper to carry out sustainable practices. since the establishment of catholic energies within mission energy, last said the group has completed over three dozen projects across the united states. 

solar at scale in d.c.’s backyard

one of the biggest solar projects energies undertook was installing solar panels for the catholic charities of the archdiocese of washington.

catholic charities focuses on social ministry, guided by the message of jesus christ. they specifically help the poor, immigrants and people with mental and developmental disabilities through various support programs like food distribution.

last said catholic charities approached them when they were switching to led-powered lights within their facilities. he said catholic charities was interested in installing solar panels on a 14 acre property they owned on the far northeast side of washington, d.c., behind the gift of peace house and convent. last said they wanted the solar panels to be built on this space because it was mostly clear and flat.

“long story short, that turned into the solar project,” last said.

the project was completed in the fall of 2019 and includes a large solar panel farm of 5,000 panels. according to the catholic energies website, the project offsets nearly 3,400 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually which is the equivalent of getting rid of 735 car emissions in one year.

since the solar panels are located in a field, they also created a pollinator garden using the space between the panels. according to the dc department of energy & environment, pollinator gardens improve habitats for wildlife and require little attention as they thrive without fertilizer, pesticides or extra water.

“it’s got lots of great, positive impacts for the catholic charities and the community,” misleh said.

even though the solar panels are concentrated in one area, they help subsidize the cost of catholic charities’ 12 buildings located all across washington, d.c. misleh said the solar panel farm gives energy to pepco, lowering the utility company’s reliance on fossil fuels.

in total, misleh said catholic energies has helped catholic charities cut their electric bill by $250,000. even though a third party is in charge of operating the solar panels which misleh said costs $185,000 per year, a total of $65,000 in savings is going towards other projects run by catholic charities.

“we were very, very proud of that project,” misleh said.

creative solutions to make a difference

catholic energies also works with local communities such as nativity catholic church and nativity catholic school in burke, va. husband and wife, george and kim young, who are parishioners at nativity, volunteer their time within the creation care ministry. unlike catholic charities which installed their solar panels in a field, theirs are installed on a roof.

in their full time jobs, george young is a licensed clinical social worker and master addiction counselor with a private practice, while kim young is a naturalist at hidden oaks nature center. after pope francis’s encyclical letter laudato si’ came out, they wanted to create an organization within their parish to address environmental issues.

“that really provided more inspiration and more support for this idea,” kim young said.

when george and kim young discovered nativity needed a new roof, they thought the parish could also install solar panels. according to kim young, they were inspired by the success of installing solar panels on their own home years earlier. they were not in charge of the final decision making process but instead.

“constantly when we would see the pastor in the hall, we would mention it when the opportunities presented itself,” kim young said.

their advocacy paid off in july 2020 when nativity completed the installation of the solar panels on its new roof. the project is expected to decrease nativity’s carbon footprint by 7,700 tons along with estimated savings of $200,000 over the next 25 years after paying off the power purchase agreement.

due to nativity’s efforts towards environmental issues, george and kim young helped the church win an interfaith power & light award in 2022 for outstanding energy stewardship in response to climate change.”

although kim young said she feels parishioners do not commonly think about the solar panels on the roof anymore, she said parishioners were excited when the pastor made a “big deal” in his sermon about the solar panels and when they won the interfaith power & light awards.

kim young said she wants to push for parishioners to reconnect with the environmental difference nativity is making and caring for the environment is not something “extra.”

“we see it as integral to our faith,” kim young said. “and to the point really, that it’s an obligation of our faith.”