Catholic Youth Expeditions is a camp and retreat for young Catholics outside Baileys Harbor. Like many religious organizations, Catholic Youth Expeditions wanted to be better stewards of the Earth. As an organization for children and young adults, they felt compelled to invest in solar to supply the retreat with a clean, renewable energy source for the future. They partnered with Eland Electric, Focus on Energy, RENEW Wisconsin, and other partners throughout Door County to make their solar project possible. Now the camp is powered by “energy from heaven.”

The solar array at Catholic Youth Expeditions was championed by Father Quintin Mann. In addition to the 20-kilowatt array, Father Quinn aims to add more renewable energy elements to the retreat. Solar is already powering his electric skateboard, and he hopes to swap his two diesel buses for an electric bus that the youth can use for their retreats outside the camp. The solar project at Catholic Youth currently offsets 20-30% of the camp’s electric needs, but Father Quinn hopes that one day the entire camp will be powered completely by renewable energy.

ORGANIZATION DETAILS
Catholic Youth Expeditions fosters the Catholic Christian community through expedition retreats of prayer, the proclamation of the Gospel, and outdoor adventure. They offer dozens of annual camping retreats and host over 500 high school students and young adults from across the country. Catholic Youth Expedition’s location is a perfect venue to offer leadership in environmental sustainability. The camp works with today’s youth to set an example of the church’s mission to care for creation.

PROJECT DETAILS
The 58 ground-mounted solar panels offset approximately half of the annual electric use at the 7.3-acre campus.

FUTURE PLANS
Catholic Youth Expeditions hopes to electrify the whole campus and its fleet of vehicles; a truck, a van, and two buses.