Two former Mount Vernon students flipped the switch on new rooftop solar panels

Ocean Durden and David Song stood in front of their classmates on Oct. 28 to turn on more than 500 new solar panels at Mount Vernon School in Sandy Springs.

The two students are now in seventh grade, but they began the work two years ago when they were in fifth grade.

At the time, they were completing an Impact Summit project that required them to show critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Durden and Song researched the environmental and financial benefits of solar energy and presented their findings to school leaders.

Their presentation convinced the administration to pursue a partnership with Cherry Street Energy, a commercial solar provider based in Atlanta.

Cherry Street fully financed the installation of the panels on the rooftops of the Middle and Upper School buildings.

The company will operate and maintain the systems and sell the electricity back to the school.

Andrew Quigley, an account executive at Cherry Street Energy, said the company serves as an alternative to traditional utilities like Georgia Power.

The system produces more than 300,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.

This output covers more than 15% of the energy needs for those buildings.

The annual production is equivalent to the power required for 25 homes and helps avoid 200 metric tons of carbon emissions.

Durden said he first became interested in the technology after driving past a solar farm in South Georgia as a child. Song said he learned about the sustainability of solar panels by asking his parents questions when he was younger. The duo met with the chief financial officer of Mount Vernon and the CEO of a Colorado-based solar manufacturer during their research. They also visited Georgia Power headquarters. School leadership continued the work after the students finished their original assignment. Courtney Stillwagon, chief financial and operations officer at Mount Vernon, said the project provides a return over time in both money and values. She said the school is investing in the next generation of leaders by choosing clean energy. Michael Chanin, founder and CEO of Cherry Street Energy, said the students saw a power plant where others saw a school roof. He noted that the school buys the power at a fixed price without spending its own capital. Kristy Lundstrom, head of school and CEO of Mount Vernon, said the students started with a question and made a case for change. She said their idea became a lasting investment in the school and its future. Durden told other students interested in similar projects that the process took two years. He advised them to be patient and not give up on their work.