The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Pearl River is one of the first churches in Rockland County to go green.

Nearly 80 percent of the church’s energy will now be pulled from the sun through solar panels.

Sixty-three panels were installed on the church’s preschool building called Creative Play.

"Tons of carbon dioxide is no longer produced because you're using either wind, or in this case, solar,” says Bob Bergman, treasurer of the church.

Bergman says the panels have a very long lifespan and will save the church thousands of dollars per year.

Pastor Lena Warren says the money the church saves will go toward their community programs.

"One of the things we've been looking at is how we can connect more in our local community,” she says. “We have a number of ministries that reach out to the Bronx, and things like that, but we also have been thinking about how we can be more connected with local nonprofits."