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Rt. Pastor Glenda Curry, the Bishop of Alabama, blessed the solar panels of the St. Stephens Bishop’s Church in Birmingham.

On a recent Wednesday night, fifty people gathered in the parking lot of St. Stephens’ Bishop’s Church in Birmingham. The air in early autumn has a scent of humidity, and those who wander around range from elementary school to retirement age. The church activities are like the clockwork of Southern Wednesday: dinner is served, there are bible lessons, prayers and songs. Nevertheless, the upcoming event in St Stephens is by no means "routine."

On the other side of the parking lot, near the steep roof of the parish hall was a bucket truck with its hydraulic arm resting on the sidewalk. In the barrel stood an operator and Rt. Pastor Glenda Curry, Bishop of the Anglican Church of Alabama. The bishop is dressed in ceremonial attire, wearing a red velvet dress and a tall bishop's hat or beveled angle on his head. When the bucket was raised to the sky, the bishop happily waved to the crowd below, then extended his right arm and pointed his index finger at the large group of solar panels covering the roof of the parish. Equipped with holy water, olive branches, pastoral staff and prayer books, Bishop Curry hovered above the solar array. Then, with nodding and prayer, the bishop in the bucket sprinkled holy water and blessed the solar panels.

Solar panels are the blessing of the South. This is especially true for the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana, where the incidence of sunny days is high, which makes this geographic area the best clean solar power generation area in the country. Nevertheless, despite this advantage, resistance to change, bottom lines, politics and indifference have collectively hindered the progress of solar energy. Given that solar energy saves consumers (who doesn't like saving money?) more and more cost savings, coupled with the benefits to the climate and the health of our respiratory system, this is surprising. Think about it, every solar panel installed offsets some of the sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and particulate matter that are produced when burning coal and natural gas to generate electricity.

However, solar energy in the south has shown early signs of development. Utility-grade solar installations are beginning to appear in states that are lagging behind the curve, such as Alabama. Wells Fargo, Wal-Mart, and Facebook are among a growing number of companies in Alabama that have installed solar farms or solar arrays to reduce costs and contribute to a more sustainable and healthier environment.

Homeowners in the South have not yet accepted the solar rooftops comparable to those in the southwestern United States. Georgia is an exception, because the Georgia Utilities Company, which is owned by Southern Corporation, promotes the affordable marketing of solar energy to homes. However, in Alabama, the major power company, also owned by Southern Company, strangely imposed huge financial barriers to prevent the installation of residential solar installations. This discrepancy may change before the outcome of the Southern Environmental Law Center's lawsuit against utility companies imposing high fees on residential solar energy.

At the same time, we can pray that more solar projects will be blessed.

James B. McClintock is the Distinguished University Professor of Polar and Marine Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is the author of "Lost Antarctica" and "The Naturalist Goes Fishing". He lived in the South for 34 years.

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