Wheaton Franciscan Sisters
Catholic Organization: Franciscan Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Location: Wheaton (IL) Franciscan Sisters (U.S. Province)
Leadership: Sr. Melanie Paradis, Provincial Directress; John Oliverio, Treasurer
Timing: Winter 2019
Opportunities:
Sr. Beatrice Hernandez, Coordinator for Wheaton’s Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Office focuses on how the Sisters can best respond to greater social justice issues of our time. Responding to their concerns for the environment led Sr. Bea to reach out to Catholic Energies to discuss renewable energy generation and consumption at their campus.
Their provincial council and treasurer were open to the idea of their motherhouse utilizing solar energy
The State of Illinois was developing a Solar For All and Adjustable Block Program, thus increasing the third party investor appeal to pay for their project costs
Challenges:
No organizational knowledge within the province for developing a solar project
Multiple utility meters were in place for buildings they owned and leased to others
Did not want to spend upfront capital on paying for the project
Implementation:
Jack (buildings & grounds) and John (Treasurer) began coordinating with Catholic Energies to collect bills
Financial and energy models were created and evaluated to optimize the system size, incentives, and savings
Catholic Energies services included the following:
Evaluated various financial and design model options
Found the investor and secured the capital that paid for the entire construction
Applied for and secured incentives from the IL Solar For All /Adjustable Block Program
Vetted and helped select the solar contractors
Helped negotiate the Power Purchase Agreement with the investor
Served as Project Manager for the installation, completed in December 2019
Results:
A 203 kW roof top installation by SunTalk Solar on the flat roof portions of their motherhouse
Full investment by Red Lion Renewables; no out of pocket costs required of the Sisters
Will reduce annual power costs
Visible example of the Sister’s commitment to caring for the environment
System operational in December 2019
“The Wheaton Franciscan Sisters Corporation eagerly approved a solar project spearheaded by Catholic Energies. Their leaders worked to ensure the agreement was structured to meet our specific needs. All vendors they hired have been professional and very responsive in guiding us through this process and on site installation. We now have our solar panels in place and are pleased to be joining others in moving to solar power as well as saving money. ”