The installation of solar panels at the Dorothy C. Benson Senior Center in Sandy Springs and 45 other Fulton County facilities will save taxpayers an estimated $2.4 million over the next 20 years.
Jessica Lavender, Energy and Sustainability manager for Fulton County, said in 2019, the Board of Commissioners adopted a plan to offset 25 percent of county building electricity use with solar by 2030. A year later, they signed a contract with Cherry Street Energy to provide solar power for seven buildings. The county has saved $130,000 on electric bills.
Lavender was joined by Commission Chairman Robb Pitts, Vice Chairman Bob Ellis, and Cherry Street CEO and founder, Michael Chanin, at the Benson Center to celebrate the expansion of solar across the county.
Pitts said in addition to the energy savings, the county’s partnership with Cherry Street will add high-paying jobs for Fulton County residents.
Chanin said putting solar panels on rooftops creates durable and technical jobs. Installing solar panels at the 46 county facilities, like the Benson Center, will create 150 jobs across Fulton County.
Cherry Street signs long-term contracts to install and maintain solar panels. Chanin said the company sells the electricity the panels produce at a rate cheaper than utility companies. One of the reasons this is possible is tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to fund solar panel installation, according to a Fulton County fact sheet.
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Chanin said the company invests capital and creates careers in the community.
“We only get compensated if the panels are working,” Chanin said.
Ellis said he expects the solar program to have the same success as a program developed at the Benson Center to use Uber and Lyft ride shares to get senior residents to the center and to medical appointments. That program has expanded across the county.
“I’m a fiscal guy, so anything that certainly saves us money, I’m interested in. But it’s not just about this. This is smart, it’s clean, it’s more affordable,” Ellis said.
Chanin said there’s not enough skilled labor doing this work.
“Candidly, most people that are in the business of solar panels are in the business of selling solar panels,” Chanin said. “Their incentives, in our mind, aren’t fully aligned with the customers. They’re looking to sell systems as expensively as possible.”
One of the ways Chanin said those businesses use to cut corners and costs is to use unskilled, untrained individuals to install solar technology.
Chanin said Cherry Street trains workers at its Solar School, held at its headquarters on Marietta Street in Atlanta. The training is part of its Shine On program, which recruits and trains skilled workers so that they can find new, rewarding careers in the renewable energy field.
People interested in getting into the field can look for a business like Pine Energy, a solar installation firm started by Roswell Drywall, to get started. Or they can get training at Cherry Street’s 10-week training program.
