Let There Be Light: Massachusetts Synagogue Gets Power From Solar Panels
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 pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.