Our anticipated 17kW solar panel installation will provide for 100% of our current electrical usage, reducing our annual CO2 emissions by 13.7 tons (17%), and saving us more than $2200 per year. The simple payback period for the panels is 17 years. And that's on panels with a 25 year warranty, and an expected lifespan of over 40 years without significant production loss. In addition to providing 100% of our electricity, they are also 100% sacramental. Sacraments are "outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace," and the inward spiritual grace in this case is a further reconciliation of our own lives with the entirety of a sustainable, sustaining, verdant creation.

A prayer from Laudato Si by Pope Francis:

Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the Earth. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.