Summer Is a Great Time to Be emPOWERed

Energy usage is soaring in NC as we all try to stay cool during the long days of heat and humidity this summer. It’s a great time to highlight an opportunity for your congregation to work with NC Interfaith Power & Light’s emPOWERerd program.

NCIPL is currently working to strengthen the community of faith-based organizations in North Carolina that focus on energy efficiency and sustainable energy use so they can more easily learn from and help each other. NCIPL offers support to congregations in the form of energy audits and energy data assessments to help congregations find opportunities to improve their energy efficiency. NCIPL offers the energy savings analysis at no charge to faith communities.

Many congregations in North Carolina have already done a great deal to improve their energy efficiency, which reduces pollution and supports human health. But, we’ve seen that continual efficiency improvements are possible as equipment and strategies improve, and that significant dollars can be recovered for the ministries and missions of the faith community.

This summer we launched a new campaign helping congregations to access easy-to-read energy data reports. The program is called TEAM Spirit, a collaborative program with NC faith communities, NC Interfaith Power and Light of the North Carolina Council of Churches, and NC Sustainable Energy Association.

In partnership we can provide a portfolio of services that educate and empower NC congregations about energy use, efficiency, and their relationship with their utility providers. The TEAM Spirit program incorporates tools, resources, utility data collection and analysis, and energy advisor services to educate and empower congregations to take action, reduce energy use, and save money.

The goal is to provide a professional perspective on how your building uses energy and provide you with educational material about low and no-­cost changes your congregation can make to reduce its carbon footprint and utility bills.

The way we power our world harms the earth as well as ourselves. We can be better stewards of our resources by producing electricity sustainably and investing in energy efficiency so we use less electricity.

Please reach out to NCIPL Program Director, Susannah Tuttle at susannah@ncipl.org to connect, share your work, and ask for any help benchmarking your energy use. Learn more at www.ncipl.org.