Independent school and parish find the bright side of energy upgrades


Founded in 1981, Christ Presbyterian Church has more than 2,500 members in the Nashville area and opened the doors of Christ Presbyterian Academy in 1985. The private school now has around 1,300 students and 200 staff members in its four schools spanning preschool to 12th grade.

Matt Moore, the Executive Director of Operations for Christ Presbyterian Academy, considered efficiency upgrades for a few years. “Energy efficiency as a field has been changing so quickly, we wanted to give the market a chance to stabilize,” says Matt. “We were so impressed by Kevin and his team at Power of Clean Energy – it felt like it was the right time.”

The team at Power of Clean Energy (PCE) connected Matt with Pathway Lending to finance the energy upgrades in the spring of 2017. The loan closed in May, and work began over summer break to replace more than 4,000 bulbs across the 58-acre campus.

“The data and referrals made this energy savings project a no-brainer,” says Matt. “We don’t typically finance projects, but we couldn’t pass up the 2% rate from Pathway.”

Lights throughout the school and parts of the parish have been replaced. Dimming capabilities were added in gathering areas where many performances and meetings take place, and in classrooms, the vendor installed Energy Focus lights with zero flicker – making them less distracting and especially beneficial to students with learning differences. The campus also boasts new exterior lights throughout the parking areas to help keep students and faculty safe walking to their cars at night.

“Pathway Lending is unique in making loans to nonprofits like our school,” says Matt. “They work with great vendors like PCE. PCE has spent a lot of time on campus and we couldn’t be happier after working with both organizations.”

 

The project means big things for the school, who predicts utility cost savings of more than $60,000 annually, in addition to the cost savings of longer lasting fixtures.

“The biggest difference is obvious in the hallways and rooms without natural light,” says Matt. “It’s lovely. Everyone can see more clearly the whole place is brighter.”