FW: Macon Telegraph: Bibb County School District moves ahead with solar project at new High School
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From: Mark Woodall <woodal...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2026 7:20 AM
To: Neill Herring <neillh...@earthlink.net>
Subject: Macon Telegraph: Bibb County School District moves ahead with solar project at new High School
Bibb County School District moves ahead with solar project at new high school campus
By Margaret Walker February 25, 2026 12:52 PM
The Bibb County School District is moving forward with plans to install a solar energy system at its Innovation and Technology Academy after the superintendent approved a staff recommendation to pursue the project on Feb. 19. Cherry Street Energy, LLC, an Atlanta-based company with Macon roots, was selected through a competitive bidding process. A final contract has not yet been created and would be completed only after all required product submittals are received, according to Sam Kitchens, the district’s assistant superintendent of operations.
“Georgia’s renewable energy workforce is growing, and students at the Academy will see firsthand how these systems operate, how they integrate with existing utility service, and how technologies like battery storage and controls will continue to expand what’s possible,” Chanin said. The panels will be installed later this calendar year, according to Kitchens, once contracts are finalized. The frames for the panels were installed over a green space during construction of the Academy, and the panels will be added after the contract is signed. The Innovation and Technology Academy is a Bibb County School District high school focused on career, technical and STEM education. It will open in time for the fall 2026 semester.
“Bibb County Schools is particularly meaningful for us,” said Michael Chanin, founder and CEO of Cherry Street Energy. “We launched Cherry Street Energy in Macon by signing Georgia’s first-ever Solar Energy Procurement Agreement. Returning to expand that partnership years later demonstrates what infrastructure built for permanence actually looks like.”
The proposed solar installation is tied to the school’s electric vehicle career pathway and would support EV charging stations while providing “an opportunity for students to learn about alternative energy at no direct cost to the district,” Kitchens said.
Cherry Street Energy will own, operate, maintain and monitor the system with the energy produced by the panels. This means the district would not pay upfront costs for the installation and would instead purchase a portion of its electricity from the system at a fixed price. Once installed, the solar panels would generate roughly 163,000 kilowatt-hours annually, providing a fixed-price source of electricity for part of the school’s energy needs while the remainder is purchased through traditional utility service, according to Chanin. “The Bibb County Board of Education receives predictable pricing on the power we generate, while continuing to purchase the remainder of their electricity needs from the utility at standard rates,” Chanin said.