PAGE 12 NORTHUMBERLAND TODAY.COM / FRII h.f f s \"\ stan â€""¢_"~ worrannsegm®o TD#A es ,[ N THE POWER OF FAITH: Project will pay for itself in six years, board members say 2 42 nï¬ Warkworth church installs solar panels es : 7 VALERIE MACDONALD br; y S Northumberland Today s > .. Sss WARKWORTH â€" From its [®&N> _ s steeple to basement, a church | m _ _ . SS * in Warkworth is going green. â€" hh * â€" e s â€" 7 Fortyâ€"eight solar panels |_ B i . i. S were installed last fall to genâ€" BA _ _ o F erate energy and income, St. C \~ uprysy | Paul‘s United Church board F‘,_"}i :S‘k_-F‘_, members says. e# ,@!,» PZ" They have shared their mg-qsé K. . experience of the provincial o_ y : MicroFIT (Feed In Tariff) proâ€" p"i P . > gram with other churches and |wha w B < as far as they know are the [Â¥ â€"Â¥oaÂ¥e _ only church to have gone solar [ S% | Ff & i. in this area, says instigator F J .:> h [ S Barry Stowell. VaÂ¥ _ k "'*\ a iss "I really pushed the church s o k > C :. "attress.,. to do this," he said. ioh‘ 4 i es > Stowell lives nearby and has i2 _ _ P neatimens., isnn in a 2.8â€"kilowatt solar system on [ ~~& . & ~/ seï¬ Tc S his own home roof, just a fracâ€" [‘ _ "~_ | & k : " es , tion of the size of the 10â€"kiloâ€" |_._ y | z mliiis. . % ~ watt system on the church _ t f 2 o C ue roof. e | :% : : k.) The provincial government‘s |_ £ / & § [ MicroPIT program allows indiâ€" s & Pre p t viduals,.small businesses and | =__ P ¢ M 11 f § groups the opportunity to . P { tw ) A enter into a 20â€"year contract at & K e M y _ 1 % a guaranteed rate of return for mt | a the electricity generated from â€" @M I : A i & [ ; alternative sources and fed > Siug j & 3 into the electrical grid. en e 3 y The cost was about $66,000 ‘ Je [ to buy and install the panels C wlC i and was financed by an indiâ€" e a SR vidual who loaned the money 1 & | F to the church, church board J fea | member Dean Peters said. [ CS j | s Board treasurer Ian McCrae J M _ 4 i said the system will pay for | :", 2 { _ itself within six years and will [___ _ _ _ af ye ol# m tuBlsd | provide revenue of $12,000 to VALERIE MACDONALD Northumberland Today _ r [ 5 x $1§fg&2§_’m§%?flfl: El’]autr ¢pis _ Above: The Reverend Doctor Heather Froats and church board presiâ€" PC - e fiverveat P business â€" plan Cent DeanPeters stand in front of St. Paul‘s United Church in Warkâ€" | & ~&# involzed greening of anupther worth, where 48 solar panel§ have been installed on the roof to genâ€" § : ; c / i sort: making the facility both _ grate income for the church‘s work. 8 t se SEX °. more energy efficient and _ Right: Barry Stowell says about $12,000 to $13,000 will be generâ€" | ,_4.@ j s § 1 T 9Y | open to the community. ated yearly through the 10â€"kilowatt solar panel MicroFIT project at ‘ isy woeee &"rg >\ Choee KE 7 s~ "So we can improve our serâ€" _ the church. He is seen here with two power inverter panels. |r x. l4 & af : vice to our community," Peters P& _ f. weminmers s ~â€" | said as the church group was age area is ongoing at this . more involved, Peters said.to M wooe 1 â€"â€"â€" i nerva en ; [ l presented this week with a _ time. those gathered at the church | mles . hn n | $38,900 Ontario Trillium Founâ€" "All in all, we are serving the _ to recognize their achieveâ€" | n k . â€"â€" | dation by representative community more efficiently . ments. 1 ‘ mt .i f °_ Gladys Petherick and local _ with greener facilities," Peters The Reverend Doctor omm %" MPP Lou Rinaldi. stated in a media release Heather Froats said people rjï¬ï¬ f ‘ The community hall in the _ The church is now is a better _ have shared their gifts and that Eesd f church basement was made . position to reach out to the _ this is God‘s love in action. more energy efficient with new _ community, It already houses "Taking care of the environâ€" 3+@"4 windows, a hotâ€"waterâ€"onâ€" _ a community food bankand is ment is taking care of creâ€" o | demaqd system, efficient. putting programs in place for . ation," she said. > f lights, insulated rear wall and youth and single parents. vmacdonald@northumberâ€" | new commercial stove and . Church members recognize _ landroday.com | fridge. The removal of a drafty . that the 166â€"yearâ€"old facility wuww.facebook.com/Northu | stage and conversion to a storâ€" _ will only survive if it becomes _ mberlandToday $ mewene | | e ce es o J |