Clean Energy Hub Feasibility Study

A Clean Energy Hub is designed to accelerate BIPOC communities' transition to a clean energy economy by providing a tangible example of clean energy technology in the community, and by leveraging skills and labor within the community to build it.

The report offers a range of clean energy solutions that can significantly enhance energy efficiency and reduce daily electricity consumption by 49% while generating additional revenue for New Bethel AME Church.


A proposed solar installation of 334 kW (AC) across both rooftop and carports provides 3X as much solar as New Bethel AME Church consumes. This additional generation will be stored in the Battery and used to power the EV charging stations. The EV Charging Stations will produce at least $100K in revenue per year. This report also includes the cost to procure one (1) electric van for the site. This van will also be able to be powered by the charging stations. The design includes four (4) charging stations - two (2) Level 2 and two (2) DCFC - on-site. Inside the building, decarbonization looks like:

a. replacing old and inefficient HVAC units and water heater with highly efficient heat-pumps,
b. installing LED lights,
c. upgrading refrigerator, and
d. adding a building management system in the building ensures optimal performance and savings.
e. These decarbonization measures combined with solar and storage capabilities create a microgrid–created thanks to the ingenuity and expertise of Black-owned businesses–buildings that can fully disconnect from the main electrical grid and continue to safely operate for the benefit of both the organization and wider community.

The first step in any building upgrade project should always be to maximize efficiency. After that electrification, depending on existing equipment, and then finally renewable energy and storage additions. Energy efficiency upgrades are the most cost-effective method to reduce energy demand of the facility, increasing the rate of the return on investment for the project.

Gemini Energy Solutions proposes the following measures to implement energy efficiency and electrification across the New Bethel AME Church’s facility:

a. Add insulation and weatherization to the building
b. Replace aging electric equipment with high-efficiency units
c. 1 x electric water heater with electric heat pump water heater
d. Replace all incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen lamps with LED bulbs
e. Upgrade existing refrigerator to EnergyStar equivalent
f. Install a Building Management System in the building to optimize usage

Solar technologies convert sunlight into electrical energy through photovoltaic (PV) panels. This energy can be used to generate electricity or be stored in batteries. This proposal recommends 334 kW (AC) of solar PV arrays spread across the building and solar carport parking structures. This amount of solar would provide 3 times as much solar generation as the energy that the New Bethel AME Church consumes (391 MWh/yr). The sizable level of overproduction will protect the New Bethel AME Church from any future potential changes to Net Energy Metering in the state of Georgia since the New Bethel AME Church will be able to offset at least 69% of its energy bill with just solar and efficiency and up to 100% of it with storage.

To utilize an overproduction of solar energy most effectively, on-site storage is essential. While the solar arrays have the potential to reduce energy bill savings, without storage the remaining energy would still need to be purchased from the grid. The first option analyzed is Battery Energy Storage System. These would be sized to fulfill expected load post-energy efficiency and solar upgrades as described in the previous paragraph. In this scenario, a battery energy storage system is being used, with usable energy capacity of 500 kWh and real max continuous power capacities of 250 kW each.

A charging station, also known as a charge point, is a power supply device that supplies electrical power for recharging plug-in electric vehicles.


The New Bethel AME Church plans to install two (2)  Level 2 bi-directional and two (2)   DCFC 120kW 2-port  EV charging stations with eight (8) charging ports, capable of fully charging the on-site PEVs in 2-6 hours.

Two (2)  2-Level 2 40 Amp 2-port charging stations will be installed in the parking area. These charging stations can be utilized by members and visitors.

A potential layout map of the two (2) Level-2 40 Amp 2-port  bi-directional and   two (2)   DCFC 120kW 2-port  EV charging stations are in Appendix A. These EV charging stations will be integrated with the on-site solar, allowing EV drivers to charge their vehicles directly from the sun’s power during hours of excess generation.

Bi-directional EV charging — sending stored energy from an electric vehicle’s battery to electric demand — has become a developing concept and practice over the past decade. Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) can be used in tandem with a battery energy storage system (BESS) to serve as a repository of solar energy, redistributing it as needed to maximize revenue generation.

The most optimal configuration accounting for cost and flexibility is three PEVs on-site for flexibility in energy storage with multiple standard wall batteries for baseload support. This will allow the New Bethel AME Church to be able to shift storage around throughout the day and in grid outage scenarios, but also to provide flexibility to utilize the PEVs during outage scenarios with wall batteries providing needed additional support.