Five DC houses of worship have signed contracts to go solar and have their old roofs replaced through a group purchase negotiated by the Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA), Metro IAF’s member-owned purchasing cooperative based in Washington, DC. The innovative deal helps churches, synagogues and other houses of worship who have old leaking roofs and cannot afford to repair or replace them. As part of CPA’s Sunroof Initiative, the organizations will have new roofs and solar panels installed at no upfront cost, and will pay deeply discounted rates for the electricity generated by solar.

“We’ve taken matters into our own hands,” said Reverend Brian Jackson of Randall Memorial United

Methodist Church. “No more buckets in our church catching water from our leaky roof.”

The houses of worship will receive a combined $500,000 in roof replacements paid for by the savings and solar incentives that are part of DC’s meaningful effort to shift toward renewable energy. “This is an incredible opportunity to help organizations doing some of the most critical work in our communities - feeding the hungry, providing shelter for those displaced by DC’s ever-rising cost of living, and providing space for afterschool programs for our children,” said Felipe Witchger, Executive Director of the Community Purchasing Alliance. 

Participating houses of worship include Capitol Hill United Methodist Church and Northeastern Presbyterian Church in Woodridge, Ohev Sholom and Tifereth Israel Congregation in Brightwood, and Randall Memorial United Methodist Church in Deanwood. At least five more churches throughout the city are expected to join CPA’s Sunroof Initiative over the next few months, with the new roofs and solar power systems likely installed by the end of 2018.

Watch this short video on CPA’s Solar Panels and New Roofs Offering