Powering Neighborhoods

Enough Energy to Power 40 Households

In the spring of 2018, 630 solar panels were installed on the roof of the Shiloh Temple in North Minneapolis. The panels will generate enough energy to power the neighboring Masjid An-Nur mosque and approximately 40 households.

“Shiloh Temple was established in 1931 and it has always been our mission to reach out and serve the needs of underserved communities. We’ve always been interested in environmental justice,” says Pastor Andres Dukes from Shiloh Temple.

"You're Looking at a Technology With the Potential for a Lot of Healing"

The solar array fits the Temple’s mission of serving underserved communities in a number of ways. The installation on Shiloh Temple’s flat roof was launched by the Just Solar Coalition – a group working to promote access to financing and opportunities for minority-owned businesses, indigenous communities and people of color in the solar industry.

Working with IPS Solar, crews from North Minneapolis, which were recently trained in solar technology by Renewable Energy Partners, installed the solar panels. Among those workers is Leon “Tron” Mallet, crew leader for IPS Solar. “If we parallel the solar concept to renewable energy and how it generates power,” Mallet commented, “it’s the same thing as how a company empowers an individual by giving them an opportunity.”

Through efforts like the Just Solar Coalition, solar energy creates new opportunities. “When someone has a job that they can actually buy a house, raise a family, get their self respect based on what they do, you’re basically looking at a technology that has the potential for a lot of healing,” said Ralph Jacobson, CEO of IPS Solar.

Cooperative Energy Futures, a Minneapolis energy cooperative owned and controlled by community members across the Twin Cities, is the developer of the project and will maintain it over the long term.

Through the Cooperative, residents from Hennepin County and seven neighboring Counties can subscribe to solar power from Shiloh Temple and receive an average of 15 percent savings on energy costs over the 25 year project life. Residents of North Minneapolis and Shiloh Temple International Ministries received the first priority to subscribe.