First Plymouth is one of five congregations in the country to receive the Interfaith Power & Light 2021 Cool Congregations award! The church was recognized because, in keeping with its commitment to reduce its carbon footprint, the Facilities Management Team and the Creation Justice Ministry partnered to switch out the remaining interior incandescent and florescent bulbs in the building and replace them with energy-efficient LED bulbs. This national honor comes with a $1000 check, which will be deposited in the Green Energy Fund for future projects that reduce FPCC’s carbon footprint.
The numbers are impressive – Bill Blunden and the LED Team identified 1,100 bulbs in 600 existing fixtures that wasted energy. Now that the replacement is complete, and once the building is open full time, the Team estimates that the church will reduce carbon emissions by about 36 tons annually, and also lower our electric bill by $3,800 a year.
Many thanks to Bruce Glenn, Bill Blunden and Dal Ingold for their work on the LED Team, and huge gratitude to Annie and David Nestor and Urban Lights, for their technical assistance and generous support. And thank you also to Larry Strawser, who completed the application on short notice in order to qualify for the 2021 competition.
Interfaith Power & Light is a national faith-based organization mobilizing a religious response to global warming in congregations through the promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.