Hillside Church is an 18,905 square foot building built in the year 2000 in Chapel Hill. Hillside Church had an Energy Assessment Report done by John Roberts, a church member and energy auditor with NCIPL in 2020. The report recommended changing out lights for LED lamps and installing solar panels. Hillside’s pastor, Rob Tennant, and the Deacons, supported the goals of the report as a way to show the church’s commitment to creation care. Subsequently, Hillside had all the interior fluorescent lamps and the parking lot lamps replaced with LED lamps. Then the church had a presentation by Scott Alexander of Eagle Solar & Light. The congregation voted unanimously to approve the solar installation. Eagle Solar & Light installed a 50 kW solar array on the roof of the worship center. The cost for the system was $116,000, less a Duke Energy rebate of $37,500. The church entered a 25-year lease with Sunwealth. The solar array was powered up on November 15, 2022. In the first year, the solar energy system provided 60,800 kWh, or about 65% of the building’s electrical energy use. Energy cost savings for the first year were $4800.
Visit Hillside Church, A Baptist Fellowship online at: http://www.hillsidenc.org
