Father Paul Appel blesses the new solar panel array at Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace Parish in Clinton earlier this month.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
CLINTON — Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace Parish’s new solar energy system is up and running. The panels should generate enough clean, renewable energy to offset the parish’s electrical costs, said Dave Schnier, the parish’s business administrator.
On Aug. 5, at 8:35 a.m. the parish’s array of 174 panels began converting sunlight into electricity. The parish shared photos of the special moment on social media with the following message: “This is an exciting milestone that reflects our commitment to good stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to us.”
The parish — which owns 5 acres of land adjacent to the church in the northwest outskirts of Clinton — first considered renewable energy several years ago while planning for construction of the church and, later, the parish hall. They were built to be energy efficient, but logistical and financial challenges stopped the parish from using geothermal, wind or solar energy sources, Schnier said.
The topic of renewable energy came up again last year during a meeting of the parish’s Justice and Peace Committee. The group works to develop opportunities for the parish to live out the tenets of papal encyclicals, including Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’, said committee member Tom Streveler. With energy costs on the rise, the group thought it might be a good time to share their interest in researching renewable energy sources with Father Paul Appel, the parish’s pastor.
Perhaps serendipitously, a company with experience in solar energy happened to be working on LED retrofitting on parish property at the time, and Father Appel took that opportunity to ask questions. The parish learned about a 30% federal business solar tax credit and wanted to beat the July 4, 2026, start-construction deadline to lock-in the savings. “We decided if we were going to do something, we needed to act fairly quickly,” Schnier said.
While the Justice and Peace Committee’s primary motivation was for care of creation, “we could begin to see the advantages to doing this not just from an ecological perspective but from a financial perspective,” Schnier said. The parish formed a task group of parishioners from various parish committees to discuss the pros and cons of renewable energy. “We decided it’s time to take advantage of Mother Nature and the good sun that’s shining down upon us,” he said.
The parish met with and solicited proposals from three contractors, and selected Blue Sky of Dubuque, Iowa, to perform the installation. The cost for the project was about $213,000, and the parish will receive a direct tax credit of about $64,000, Schnier said.
The solar energy generated by the panels offsets the energy provided by Alliant Energy. The solar energy is expected to generate about 113% of the parish’s historic energy consumption, Schnier said. Any surplus energy generated will go to Alliant Energy’s electrical grid. The break-even point will occur in about five years.
Streveler’s personal interest in renewable energy predates Laudato Si’, so for him, this “happy” milestone has been a long time coming. “Every once in a while things happen at the right moment,” he said, noting that he is grateful for Father Appel’s openness to the project. “Everything just fell into place.”
