As the Church of the Resurrection celebrates 60 years of serving the Bonteheuwel community, it has been chosen as the site of the first Community Renewable Energy Solar Hub.  The Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute (SAFCEI) supported by the ClimateWorks Foundation, the pilot project will demonstrate the role that faith communities can play in South Africa's just energy transition (JET). The church and its surrounding community are co-creating community-led development solutions, powered by renewable energy solutions, that can be replicated across Southern Africa.

The Church of the Resurrection was selected from a short list of three faith centres because of its longstanding role as a trusted anchor in Bonteheuwel. Its soup kitchen, which serves around 1400 people every week, is expected to be one of the first initiatives to benefit from the renewable energy hub, helping to reduce the church's ongoing operational costs. By giving renewable energy infrastructure to a faith institution, the project highlights the important role of faith institutions in responding to local needs while bringing people together around practical solutions to climate and energy challenges.

"This groundbreaking is a very special milestone for us in realising SAFCEI’s vision of ‘people of faith caring for living Earth’. We have been advocating that for JET to work, it must meet South Africa’s needs. To be just, JET has to be for communities and with communities. Having the opportunity to work with the Bonteheuwel community on this project is a dream come true," says Francesca de Gasparis, Executive Director of SAFCEI.

More than a renewable energy installation, the project is designed to build local knowledge and participation. Alongside the solar hub, residents and faith leaders will take part in training, workshops and ongoing engagement to demonstrate what a people-centred energy transition looks like in practice, creating a model that can be adapted by other faith institutions and local organisations across South Africa and the broader region.

"Our vision would be solar hubs being installed across Africa because so much of the continent is still without any access to electricity or like South Africa experiencing energy poverty where we cannot afford the monthly electricity costs," explains de Gasparis. "A solar hub like this one in a faith institution can provide a community with a central point to access renewable energy for community needs, and can be a part of building climate resilience."

"This project came to us in our 60th year, so it's an opportunity for us once again to do something new," says Father Oswald Cloete of the Church of the Resurrection. "People come here seeking solace, to worship and to find connection, which is why this project also resonates with our Christian understanding of the Earth and what God has given to us."

The ceremonial groundbreaking marked the beginning of the project's installation phase, with construction of the 43 620W solar panels expected to continue through 2026 before the hub becomes operational. Engagement activities, stakeholder visits and training workshops will continue throughout the project as local residents and faith leaders build the knowledge and skills needed to support locally owned renewable energy initiatives.

"This project is meant to empower the local community, not only through access to energy, but also through knowledge and participation," adds de Gasparis.

The Bonteheuwel hub forms part of SAFCEI's No Faith in False Solutions campaign and is intended to serve as a blueprint for similar initiatives across Southern Africa. "This is one of our most ambitious community projects to date. It is an opportunity to learn alongside the Bonteheuwel community while creating a model that can benefit many more communities across Southern Africa," concludes David Munene, Chair of the SAFCEI Board.