116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Wellington Heights Community Church unveils solar panels, battery storage
The location marks Linn County’s second resiliency hub, where residents in need can go during times of disaster
Oct. 31, 2023 5:00 am, Updated: Oct. 31, 2023 7:32 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — The Wellington Heights Community Church is officially Linn County’s second resiliency hub, complete with an 8.1-kilowatt solar panel and battery storage system.
Since the 2020 derecho, Linn County has been developing a network of resiliency hubs to give residents access to critical resources such as food, electricity and information during disasters and the periods in between.
The Wellington Heights Community Church sits at 1600 Fourth Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids, where it serves a congregation of around 150. About 50 percent of the surrounding Wellington Heights residents are people of color — a demographic disproportionately impacted by climate change, said Linn County Sustainability Director Tamara Marcus.
With Wellington Heights Community Church’s strong community focus, it was a “no brainer” to invest even more resources for the neighborhood there, said lead pastor Keeyon Carter.
“We want to be that hub for the community,” he said at a ribbon cutting Sunday. “We're right here, planted, and we see the value of education and learning more on what's going to help our grandchildren live in a better place.”
After the derecho devastated Wellington Heights, nonprofit Our Future organized the plan to make Wellington Heights Community Church and the surrounding community more resilient during future disasters.
NextEra Energy, the Florida-based company currently building the Duane Arnold Solar projects near Palo, donated 20 used 400-watt solar panels for the structure. Kirkwood Community College students refurbished the panels and installed them on the church’s roof with solar contractor Eagle Point Solar. The generated energy powers the Wellington Heights Community Church.
Eagle Point Solar and industrial and electrical supplier Van Meter also donated equipment for a backup battery storage system, where any excess energy generated by the panels is sent and stored. The battery can hold about 13 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Once the battery is full, excess energy is sent to the power grid.
Solar panels on the roof of the Wellington Heights Community Church in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. The church is the newest of Linn County’s resiliency hubs, with newly installed solar panels and battery storage allowing the church to provide electricity to community members in the event of large scale power failures such as those following the August 2020 derecho. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
Battery storage for power from solar panels the Wellington Heights Community Church in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. The church is the newest of Linn County’s resiliency hubs, with newly installed solar panels and battery storage allowing the church to provide electricity to community members in the event of large scale power failures such as those following the August 2020 derecho. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
If a disaster knocks out power to Wellington Heights, residents can plug in their phones or internet routers to the battery and connect with loved ones.
“The battery is the resilience piece that is becoming more and more (part) of my conversation — our conversation as solar installers — over the last couple of years since the derecho,” said Chris Hoffman, a senior solar energy consultant of Eagle Point Solar. “The fact that there's a battery here is innovative.”
The system is projected to shave $1,122 off the church’s electric bill in the first year alone. Over 25 years, it should save the establishment $42,329. The tech makes the church more energy-independent in times of emergency, when surrounding residents can flock to the building for electricity, shelter and resources.
Our Future also installed a community refrigerator in the church that will be stocked through partnerships with local growers, like Feed Iowa First, and be accessible 24/7. Personal hygiene items will be offered there as well.
“It's obviously a very collaborative project,” Marcus said. “I think it's a model that could very realistically be replicated across the county and even beyond.”
The county’s first resiliency hub was formed in Cedar Rapids in June 2021 after the 2020 derecho. It sits beside the Fillmore Building at 520 11th St. NW in Cedar Rapids.
The less-than-an-acre lot is full of garden beds where underrepresented groups can harvest food. A pergola and a solar system may be added to the area, pending decisions from the Linn County Board of Supervisors.
It also serves as a model for new resiliency hubs as the network expands across Linn County. The new hubs won’t all look the same, though. For example, the Wellington Heights Community Church is an internal hub within a structure, unlike the open green space of the existing Cedar Rapids hub.
Karen Kawala, the county’s new resiliency coordinator, will be instrumental in coordinating the resiliency hubs and organizing disaster preparedness plans. She is developing a proposal for resiliency units that can be deployed in Linn County amid emergencies.
Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com
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