Support our work!
Help Texas Interfaith Power and Light build faithful commitment to the environment in congregations throughout our state. We depend on your membership to support our education and outreach.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could take a big net and capture the global warming pollution out of the air? Every day we all could go out and collect air pollution and trap it in jars, so it couldn’t hurt our climate or our health.
Unfortunately, air pollution isn’t easy to trap once it’s in the atmosphere—but the good news is, there are ways to keep pollution from getting into the air in the first place.
Your Texas Interfaith Power and Light Membership Buys Cleaner Air
One of the best ways to clear our air is to reduce our dependence on “brown” electricity from fossil fuels by growing our supply of clean, safe power from wind, solar and other renewable resources.
When you and your congregation join Texas Interfaith Power and Light, your contribution goes directly to preventing global warming pollution. Here's how it works:
Based on your membership level, TXIPL purchases renewable energy credits ("RECs") generated by new wind farms across the U.S. By joining TXIPL, you are helping to put more clean power into the electrical grid in the United States, forcing polluting plants to cut back their output.
TXIPL’s RECs are Green-e certified!
Building Community, Caring for Creation
TXIPL membership is a great way for you and your congregation to join with other communities of faith in caring for creation. Your membership supports the work of TXIPL in educating congregations throughout Texas about creation stewardship.
By joining TXIPL, you are helping to create opportunities for congregations to weave environmental concern into their study and worship. For instance, in October congregations will have the opportunity to participate in screenings and discussion of of An Inconvenient Truth and other global warming films.
Your payment is a tax-deductible charitable contribution. TXIPL will buy the number of RECs that you designate through your membership level and retire the underlying tradable renewable energy certificates. You will receive both a certificate acknowledging your contribution and a notice confirming that your RECs have been retired.
Through your TXIPL membership you are:
- Clearing the air, offsetting carbon dioxide and other emissions from regular power plants
- Conserving nonrenewable fossil fuels - oil, coal and natural gas
- Boosting energy diversity, independence and sustainability
- Developing a market for renewable energy
Individual Membership
Your TXIPL membership fee includes one REC. As a member, you can purchase as many additional RECs as you like at $15 apiece.
For an even better deal, join the Megawatt-a-Month Club: get 12 months’ worth of RECs at one time or through a year-long subscription and save $20.
How many RECs should you buy? It depends on the volume of global warming pollution you want to reduce.
An average household in Texas consumes about 1,000 kilowatt hours per month of electricity, generating about 1,550 pounds of carbon emissions.
Each REC offsets the emissions from 1,000 kilowatts (which is the same thing as one megawatt.) Use the Environmental Protection Agency’s “carbon calculator” to determine your “carbon footprint” and decide what percent of your impact you want to offset, or choose an amount based on an average Texas home.
Want to start smaller? Purchase a single REC--hang the certificate on your wall to remind you and your family that you are doing your part for the climate, or give the certificate as a gift to someone else who cares about the creation.
Download the printable Texas Interfaith Power and Light Membership Form
FORM
Congregational Membership
Your congregation can offset its carbon emissions! The electricity you use in worship, religious education, fellowship and other activities generates global warming pollution, but by purchasing RECs you can reduce global warming pollution AND provide an example for your members and the larger community.
Congregations that join TXIPL will receive promotional materials to help educate their members, and are welcome to use the TXIPL logo on their websites and in print materials. Congregational members will be listed on the TXIPL website.
How Many RECs Should Your Congregation Purchase?
Congregational electricity consumption varies widely based on building size and age as well as other factors. TXIPL has developed two options for congregations to offset their emissions.
Congregational TXIPL membership fees include 5 RECs. Member congregations can purchase any number of additional RECs at $15 apiece.
Great Deal for Congregations: Adopt-a-Watt Program
Linking your congregation’s REC purchases to weekly worship is a great way to emphasize the importance of creation stewardship to your faith.
Through the Adopt-a-Watt Program, your congregation commits to purchase one REC per week for a year, and then enlists individuals and families to “adopt” a week (similar to the way many congregations handle flowers and other weekly expenses of worship).
Congregations that participate in Adopt-a-Watt will receive an Adopt-a-Watt sign-up calendar in addition to the other materials mentioned above.
Ready to go the extra mile? Find out how many RECs it would take to offset all of your congregation’s carbon emissions.
Consult the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “carbon calculator” to determine your congregation’s total emissions. Then, TXIPL staff will help you determine how many RECs you would need to offset your emissions. If you prefer, you can choose to offset a percentage of the total.
| TXIPL Individual Membership $30 |