Solar Panel Investor Model - How to (mar-v1-030120)

Sep 16, 2026

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Concise guidance for houses of worship and other nonprofit organizations on installing solar power through an investor-model power purchase agreement (PPA). The manual addresses the central financial barrier of upfront system costs and explains how the PPA structure enables local small-scale energy production while aligning with environmental stewardship and social responsibility. It outlines why the approach reduces building carbon footprints, supports energy cost savings, and can be evaluated for investment returns, with notes on policy context and real-world application.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time4 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

Purpose and target audience

Investor model PPA benefits

Why pursue solar and how it works

Financial barrier and tax credit context

Carbon footprint and value alignment

Decision-making and return-on-investment considerations

Genesis of Ann Arbor example

Foreword by Bob Chapman This concise manual was written with a specific goal and for a specific target audience. The goal is to remove one of the biggest barriers for houses of worship (HoW) and other nonprofit organizations to begin using renewable energy. That barrier has been the initial cost required to get a system up and running. The interest is plainly there. For decades in the governing bodies of temples, churches, synagogues, and mosques have raised the question “If our faith calls us to be stewards of the environment, why aren’t we using renewable energy for our operations?” Often the answer has been“We can’t afford it” or “It is too costly” or some other variation citing a financial barrier. Underlying every objection was the same question that every faith community must answer before undertaking any faith-based enterprise: “Can we afford to do this?” When it comes to using solar power, this manual provides one answer to that question. It is not the only answer. Congregations have use self-funded projects through capital campaigns or existing reserves. Some have purchased green power from other sources without putting up their own solar arrays. And some HoWs decide to live out their environmental stewardship values in other ways, such as investing in energy efficiency, recycling, reducing the use of pesticides and, increasingly, paying more attention to their water use and stormwater runoff. Of course, before exploring solar options, many of these other strategies, and especially energy efficiency should be adopted. I said this is not the only answer but for the right situation it is a powerful solution. Investor owned power purchase agreements (PPAs) are nothing new. Indeed, when you pay your electric utility bill inmost cases (DTE, Consumers Energy) you are buying power from an investor owned power producer. The difference and the beauty of this model is that it creates an opportunity for creating a local smallscale power production installation. This is energy democracy. This is socially responsible investing. This is faith in action. I congratulate the authors of this manual. They have distilled the lessons from many, many projects so that you do not need to recreate (or invent) a lot of wheels. They have summarized several best practices and organized them to create a very readable roadmap. I speak from experience. Besides having a solar array on my own house for the past 5 years (giving me an electric bill most months of about $9 .00), my wife and I were investors in what I believe was only the second PPA in Michigan at our house of worship near downtown Detroit. Done right, as this manual lays out, a PPA can be right for the investor, right for the congregation and right for the environment. In these times where we already are seeing the effects of climate change falling disproportionally on the poor, increasing the use of renewable energy in this manner is an act of environmental justice. I congratulate you on taking a hard look at this model to see if it is right for your congregation or organization. Peace, Bob Chapman Former Executive Director of Michigan Interfaith Power & Light and of EcoWorks Detroit This document is a HoW-To. HoW do we get solar installed on our buildings using the “Investor Model”? Because Houses of Worship (HoW) and nonprofits, including condo associations, do not pay taxes, they cannot directly take advantage of the Federal Solar Tax Credit (See Figure 1) . From this figure, you can see that immediate action is required, as the tax credit is diminishing! It is also recommended that everyone pressure their senators and congress people to extend and broaden this credit. The investor model has been a huge success at many HoWs / nonprofits in Southeast Michigan. More on this in Appendix A. Why do this? The primary reason is to reduce the carbon footprint of our building. Dividends from energy savings improvement also include: 1. Long-term energy cost savings 2.

FAQs

What is the main barrier this manual helps houses of worship overcome?

The manual focuses on removing the upfront initial cost barrier that prevents many houses of worship and nonprofits from starting renewable energy projects.

What is the investor model and why is it different from other approaches?

Under investor model PPAs, power is purchased from an investor-owned producer, creating an opportunity for local small-scale power installation that supports energy democracy and socially responsible investing.

Why should organizations consider solar panels for their buildings?

The primary reason given is to reduce the building’s carbon footprint, alongside potential long-term energy cost savings and related community benefits.

Sep 16, 2026

Upload by Bulrr