Olympia Community Solar and Grace Episcopal Church Launch 73-Panel Solar Project on Bainbridge Island

“Grace Episcopal Church is honored to join the solar energy community in Kitsap County,” said Eric Mason. “Caring for our earth has never been more important!”

The Bainbridge Island congregation recently celebrated the commissioning of a 73-panel solar installation stretched across its roof, a project designed and built by Cascadia Solar that will slash the church’s operating costs while feeding clean electricity into the local grid.

The scale of the project is modest but meaningful. Over its projected 30-year lifetime, the installation is expected to produce 846 megawatt-hours of clean, renewable electricity. According to Environmental Protection Agency greenhouse gas equivalencies cited in the announcement, that output will offset 28,891 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually. To put that in perspective, that is equivalent to the amount of carbon captured by 13 acres of U.S. forest land every year, or the electricity use of three homes for one year.

But for the congregation, the financial impact may prove just as transformative as the environmental benefit. OlySol reported that the solar array will reduce the church’s annual energy burden by an average of $10,470 per year over the 30-year lifespan. Those dollars, which would otherwise flow to utility companies, will instead be invested in local services for vulnerable community members on Bainbridge Island and throughout Kitsap County, expanding the church’s ability to serve both its congregation and the broader community for years to come.

The project was made possible through a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce Clean Energy Community Grants program, which is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health across the state. More information about the Climate Commitment Act is available at www.climate.wa.gov.

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Olympia Community Solar spearheaded the initiative, coordinating with the City of Bainbridge Island and recognizing the efforts of Marcy Lagerloef, Cascadia Solar, and the Washington Department of Commerce. The collaboration highlights how community solar models can help nonprofit organizations access renewable energy infrastructure without bearing prohibitive upfront capital costs, making clean power accessible to institutions that serve critical social functions.

For Grace Episcopal, the rooftop array represents a practical extension of its long-standing commitment to creation care and community service. By cutting fixed energy costs through solar generation, the church frees up budget for outreach and ministry while shrinking its carbon footprint—a dual benefit that leaders hope will inspire other houses of worship in Kitsap County to pursue similar sustainability measures and demonstrate that environmental responsibility and social service go hand in hand.

The 73 panels now sit atop the church roof, quietly converting sunlight into both electrical power and tangible community support. As Eric Mason emphasized, Grace Episcopal is honored to join the solar energy community in Kitsap County at a time when caring for the earth has never been more important.