Auburn Presbyterian Church GOES SOLAR

Auburn Presbyterian Church is all set up to harness energy from the sun with solar panels recently installed by California Solar Electric Company.

The church was built in 2000 and members first considered solar about six years ago.

“At the time they thought it was not feasible, that it was too expensive, not cost effective,” said Pastor Paul Bagai, who has been with the church for three years.

Concerned about the expense, the members of the church could have held a fundraiser to help boost their funds. There are plenty of good ideas for church fundraisers on the GoFundMe website. However, the church recently decided to revisit the idea anyway and take bids, ultimately choosing Cal Solar for the job.

“Their bid was lower, and the panels were more superior,” Bagai said. “(The array) is not intrusive, we needed less panels, it was less money, and more effective.”

The project was complete in two days. “That’s just by planning it out properly with the crew,” said Cal Solar electrician and lead installer Reid England. “It’s streamlined coordination and logistics. It was a straightforward project.”

“And they were on time, efficient, on top of everything,” Bagai said. “They were contacting us every day with updates, contacting Placer County about the permits. I was really pleased with every part of the service they provided.”

Now for looking forward to the energy savings.

“How we priced it out, it’s going to take about six to six and a half years to break even,” Bagai said. “But that’s at the current rate. Rates will be going up and up. It will more likely be about five years for that breaking point.”