Dayton Friends proudly displays new solar array

Dayton Friends is a Quaker meeting in Dayton, Ohio. As part of the Religious Society of Friends, the group counts stewardship as an important part of their mission. To put their values into action, the meeting participated in Solar United Neighbors’ Miami Valley Co-op and went solar in June 2024. 

“We wanted to put panels up on our meeting house for both the purpose of reducing our overall electric bill, but also to align ourselves with our values of living sustainably. And we liked the idea of having the panels being visible from the street so as people drive by, they can see what we’ve done,” said meeting member Dan McGregor. 

Dan attended an Earth Day event in 2023 where he learned that nonprofits were able to benefit from federal solar incentives through the IRS direct pay program. Direct pay, part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), allows tax-exempt entities like Dayton Friends to be paid for the value of the renewable energy tax credit—30 percent. 

This made solar a reality. “It’s something the meeting has been thinking about for a number of years, right? But it wasn’t until the nonprofit eligibility for the credit became available that we really started to look at it seriously,” shared Dan.  

The ability to recoup 30% of the system cost led them to install a 2.4-kilowatt array projected to cover all of their electricity needs. “We would not have done it without that,” said Dan. Dayton Friends is thankful for the opportunity to translate their values into action, and for the program that made it possible.