Hemenway Poster
Hemenway United Methodist Church is now powered by 15.4 kW of solar energy.

Realgy, LLC today announced the completion of a 15.4 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) system for Hemenway UMC, an active parish serving the Evanston community and beyond for 143 years.

The solar PV system was installed on the roof of the main church building located in Evanston, Illinois. Pastor Mosley stated: “We share our building with several non-profits who provide vital services to the community. The solar panels provide energy to reduce our energy costs so that we can redirect resources to life saving endeavors. It’s really exciting to see the roof area with the panels installed, as it builds on our commitment to sustainability.”

The solar PV system was installed by Eco Solar Solutions of Chicago, Illinois. This is a smaller project than ECO Solar normally installs but it will make a big impact for the church. “Hemenway’s church building is a flat roof and southern exposure which was a great building to install the solar PV system,” said Paul Szczesny, President of Eco Solar Solutions. “Adding solar to the church so that it will now be able to generate most of its ongoing energy needs for the next 25 years is very exciting and a great investment.”

Realgy, LLC is an alternative energy service supplier in Illinois and is the owner of 5 solar PV systems, including our newest at Hemenway UMC. Realgy supplies Hemenway their electricity and selected them for this installation. Realgy paid for the installation so as to generate renewable energy locally as part of its sustainable commitment in Illinois.

The Hemenway PV Solar system will produce over 18, 250 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy annually and more than one million kWh over the next 25 years. That is enough energy to power about 2 average Illinois homes every year. The environmental benefits associated with the PV system is the reduction of 50 pickup trucks of coal or 12,775 lbs. of carbon dioxide each year for the next 25 years of operation!

“We are excited to announce the completion of the Hemenway solar PV project,” said Michael Vrtis, President of Realgy, LLC. “Realgy made this investment as a continuation of our commitment to Illinois, and especially Evanston.” It is Realgy’s second project in Evanston. Vrtis continues; “The Hemenway PV project builds on our commitment of reducing the cost and proving the environmental benefits of renewable energy to our customers in Illinois.”

Realgy entered into a long term agreement with Hemenway UMC under which Hemenway pays nothing for the Solar PV plant’s installation and maintenance. Hemenway simply remains a customer of Realgy and pays only the market based cost of power it uses (averaging 5% below COMED). In addition, the church will receive a discount of about 10% as a result of having the solar energy displace energy that would otherwise be delivered (and charged) by COMED.

Contacts:

Hemenway United Methodist Church
Reverend R. Mosley
933 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, Illinois 60202
847-328-2600

ECO SOLAR Solutions
Paul Szczesny
President, Co-Founder
773.733.4110
www.eco-solar-solutions.com

Realgy Energy Services, LLC
Michael Vrtis
President
675 Oakwood Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-233-2270
www.realgyenergyservices.com