Four Black churches in California’s Bay Area are transforming into resilience hubs with EV charging infrastructure. According to Inside Climate News (ICN), the goal of this initiative is to boost financial sustainability and attract investment in underserved communities.

Glad Tidings International in Hayward, Twenty-Third Avenue Church in Oakland, The Way Christian Center in Berkeley, and University AME Zion (UAMEZ) in Palo Alto are part of the initiative, led by environmental justice nonprofit Green the Church (GTC) and cleantech firm Gemini Energy Solutions.

These resilience hubs will equip churches with clean energy and provide shelter and necessities — including electricity and air conditioning — during disasters like wildfires, power outages, or extreme weather, ICN reports.

Gemini Energy Solutions, founded by Anthony Kinslow, Ph.D., leads project management and community outreach. GTC, led by Rev. Ambrose Carroll, mobilizes clergy and works with their in-house “green team.”

“We started this project based on faith,” Rev. Carroll said, referencing the two-year struggle to secure financing. He noted that many banks don’t always understand the idea of a Black community generating its own income, as opposed to outside companies profiting.

The duo eventually secured a $3 million revolving loan from the Kresge Foundation, per ICN. According to the foundation’s website, the organization invests in arts, education, health, and community development to expand equity and opportunities in U.S. cities, helping low-income individuals improve their lives and economic status.

Per ICN, Black churches are facing shrinking congregations and declining tithes. For these four Bay Area churches, clean energy offers a chance at survival and a path to long-term sustainability.

These four churches are among more than 15 other churches working with GTC to develop Community Decarbonization Hubs. Per ICN, Glad Tidings is the furthest along, with its $4.3 million project set for completion in September.

The new solar-powered campus includes a 13,000-square-foot building with battery storage and 10 EV charging stations, ICN reports. It’s expected to cut energy costs and generate $500,000 annually, which is predicted to double within five to seven years as EV use grows. Kinslow told ICN that Glad Tidings plans to reinvest 80% of the hub’s profits back into the church and the South Hayward community.

“We’re actually building more solar than the demand of the buildings, so we make a profit from that [by selling the excess electricity they generate through the public EV charging stations], and then we use that profit for programming,” Kinslow said, per ICN.

Kinslow’s company is also launching a “Neighborhood Decarbonization Index” that uses survey data and machine learning to track greenhouse gas emissions and measure progress in community decarbonization over time.

At UAMEZ, the community decarbonization hub is part of Pastor Kaloma Smith’s larger plan to revitalize the church and better connect with Gen Z and young families. The church’s upgrades include solar panels, energy-efficient upgrades, and 12-16 EV charging stations. Construction, including the power grid connection, will take six months.

“When we started talking [about the hub] as a community, it wasn’t like, ‘Why should we do this?’ It was like, ‘This makes sense for the betterment of our world,’” Pastor Smith told ICN.