The Economics of Church Solar Panels

This article about churches installing solar panels combines religious teachings, church financing, and government regulation all into one story.  Many religious individuals feel compelled to install solar panels on their church buildings both to be better stewards of the environment but also to cut costs.  Churches with enough members are able to raise donations to install solar panels, but smaller congregations are less successful in raising the large funds necessary to pay for the installation.

Well, one church in North Carolina made a deal with a solar company such that the company would install the panels for free if the church would buy its electricity from the company instead of the local power company.  But last week the state's Supreme Court ruled that this arrangement violated state regulations because the local power company was the only authorized seller of electricity.  Read the article to find out what will happen with those solar panels.

Many churches are now fighting for the law to change to make clean energy more accessible for other churches.  Do the churches have a strong case?  Should the state changes its regulations about the sale of electricity?