Let There Be Light: Massachusetts Synagogue Gets Power From Solar Panels

By Aiden Pink November 7, 2017

A synagogue in Massachusetts has installed 265 solar panels on its roof, ensuring that 92% of its power needs are met with renewable resources.

Temple Aliyah, a Conservative congregation in Needham, outside Boston, is expected to save $6,600 in electricity costs in its first year and nearly $245,000 over the course of 20 years, thanks to its new solar energy system. The panels, installed by Solect Energy and serviced by the energy consortium PowerOptions, will generate 85,170 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

“At Temple Aliyah, we are focused on making a better future for our community, both large and small,” the synagogue president, David Farbman, said in a statement. “We believe that by significantly reducing our carbon footprint by hosting one of the largest solar arrays of any house of worship in the state, we are helping both our synagogue and our wider world at the same time.”

“Our tradition teaches us that we have a duty ‘to till and to tend’ the precious world which is our collective home,” Rabbi Carl Perkins added. “That implies that we must seek to conserve natural resources, including energy. By capturing some of the energy contained in the sunlight falling on our property, we are making progress in our quest to be faithful stewards of this precious collective home which has been entrusted to us.”

The synagogue, founded in 1964, has over 400 families, according to its website.

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink

Aiden Pink is the Deputy News Editor for the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink.

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