As Catholics, we are called to an ecological conversion—to see creation as a sacred gift entrusted to our care, not a resource to exploit. Rooted in Sacred Scripture, this call is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching: protecting the earth, promoting the common good, and safeguarding the most vulnerable, who are most affected by a warming planet.
For over a year, the Saint Dominic community prayed, planned, and worked toward a vision to live this teaching—harnessing the power of the sun’s light to care for God’s creation. In December 2025, our vision came to life in the form of our new parish solar array—nearly 290 panels across three school roofs—which provides nearly 99% of the electricity our parish and school need each year. Clean, renewable energy that reduces our reliance on fossil fuels and helps protect the earth, our common home.
We hope this project will be a witness of our faith to all in this parish community, our neighbors here in Shaker Heights, and to the entire Diocese as we become the first Catholic parish in Northeast Ohio to have a rooftop solar array. We hope it can be a symbol of our call to care for our common home.
You can view our solar array production:
Gymnasium Roof
Upper School and Meeting Room Roofs
Together, the parish and school use approximately 180,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year. That's about the same amount of electricity used annually by 14–15 typical Shaker Heights homes. Generating that much electricity with solar also avoids the carbon emissions associated with driving a typical gasoline-powered vehicle more than 300,000 miles.
The solar array is expected to generate approximately 176,000 kWh of electricity each year—enough to provide about 99% of the annual electricity needed by the parish and school buildings.
The total cost of the project was approximately $265,000. Through the federal government's clean energy incentive program for tax-exempt organizations, Saint Dominic expects to receive approximately $80,000 (about 30% of the project's cost) as a direct payment. The remaining cost is being funded through the parish's Capital Projects Fund.
After accounting for the federal incentive, the parish expects to recover the remaining cost of the project through electricity savings in approximately eight years.
The solar panels are backed by a 25-year performance warranty and are expected to continue producing electricity well beyond that period. As a result, the parish and school should benefit from decades of significantly reduced electricity costs while also reducing their environmental impact.
When the array produces more electricity than the parish and school need, the excess power is sent to the electric grid. Saint Dominic receives a credit for that electricity through net metering, allowing those credits to offset electricity used from the grid at other times.
The parish and school remain connected to the electric grid. During the evening, on cloudy days, or whenever electricity demand exceeds solar production, electricity is supplied by the grid just as it was before the solar array was installed.
No. For the safety of utility line workers, grid-connected solar systems automatically shut down during a power outage. This prevents electricity from being sent back onto power lines while repairs are being made.
No. The current system does not include battery storage.
While battery technology continues to become more affordable, it is still a significant investment. Batteries generally make the most financial sense in two situations:
While battery technology continues to become more affordable, it is still a significant investment. Batteries generally make the most financial sense in two situations:
when electric utilities charge significantly higher rates during peak-demand periods, allowing stored electricity to reduce costs; or
where power outages occur frequently and backup power is a priority.
Neither of those conditions currently justified the additional cost for Saint Dominic.
The solar array includes 289 solar panels:
192 panels on the gymnasium roof
61 panels on the upper school roof
36 panels on the meeting room roof
No solar panels were installed on the church building.
Very little of the system is visible from street level.
Because Saint Dominic is located within the Winslow Historic District, the project was designed to meet the district's architectural guidelines. The panels are mounted at a low 10-degree angle, minimizing their visibility. A small portion of the array on the upper school roof can be seen from the outdoor Mass patio on the south side of the church.
Yes. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland, near Belvoir Oval, installed a solar canopy over part of its parking lot several years ago. In 2026, the City of Shaker Heights also approved a solar project on the City's Service Center on Chagrin Boulevard that will be approximately twice the size of Saint Dominic's system.
To the best of our knowledge, Saint Dominic is the first Catholic parish in the Diocese of Cleveland to install a solar array.
We hope this project inspires other Catholic parishes and schools to explore practical ways of caring for creation, reducing energy costs, and living out our shared responsibility to be good stewards of God's creation.
To learn more about the array contact Liz Woconish (lwoconish@stdominicschool.net) or Chris Kerr (christopher.g.kerr@gmail.com).