Student Reaches for the Sun and Succeeds

There was no army, but Peterson did find support and help. His father, Jeff, a senior policy adviser for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and his mother, Ida, who has been an environmental activist in Falls Church, guided him along the way. But the parents mostly acted as cheerleaders, they said by phone last week.

After getting approval from schools Superintendent Lois Berlin, Peterson searched for a contractor. He found Switch, a Gaithersburg company that was enthusiastic about the project and willing to charge him what seemed to be a competitive price: $25,000.

After a presentation to School Board members, he got their approval. But the biggest challenge was still before him: raising the money.

With his parents' help, he drafted a pitch letter and sent it to local businesses and family friends.

"There is a scientific consensus that increasing levels of carbon dioxide are causing the planet to heat up. . . . Alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar power, are part of the solution to bringing global warming under control," the letter said.

Peterson followed up with phone calls. Although he encountered secretaries whose bosses always seemed to be "out of the office," he also found financial support.

It did not take long for checks to begin to flow in: a few big ones, including $5,000 from the Falls Church City Council, and some $20 checks from residents who had read about his effort in a newspaper.

To control costs, Peterson persuaded British Petroleum to donate 15 of the 18 panels. When his tally reached nearly $19,000, he decided it was enough for a slightly scaled-down version of the project.

On June 9, Peterson climbed onto the steel roof of his 1950s-era school to watch as the contractor installed 18 blue-and-black panels and positioned them to face south. Peterson said he was excited but already thinking about what he still needed to do: thanking and recognizing his supporters and making sure an educational display would be set up in the school to demonstrate how much power the panels generated.

In the fall, Peterson plans to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., where he wants to study materials engineering. He hopes to apply the environmental lessons he has learned, as well as his new skills in managing an ambitious project.

What he is leaving behind is something sustainable, said Robert C. Nissen, maintenance supervisor for the Fall Church city school system.

"It's something that will far outlast his time here," he said.