After months of petitioning by the solar industry and citizens, the government has agreed to install solar hot water panels and some photovoltaic (PV) on the White House, in Washington, DC.
An effort to put solar on The White House has been active for some time. The SolarOnTheWhiteHouse campaign, organized by by various solar and green enthusiasts has been petitioning since April 2010. The campaign rounded up 50,000 signatures since it began.
In June of 1979, 32 solar hot water panels were installed on The White House by Jimmy Carter as a symbol of America’s commitment to developing renewable energy. The panels were removed from the House in 1986 after oil prices declined and the imperative had diminished.
Last month, author and 350.org founder Bill McKibben traveled with members of his organization to DC to urge Obama to consider re-installing solar on The White House. The group carried with them one of the original panels from the 1979 installation. They left DC without a commitment.
In another effort to install solar in high-profile places, Sungevity has been working with Republic of Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed to install solar panels on the roof of the Mulleeaage, the home of the Maldives President. The installation should be complete on Thursday. President Nasheed decided to install the solar PV system donated by Sungevity in an effort to highlight how solar is a wise, affordable investment that can save money on energy bills, create jobs and combat the pollution causing climate change. Up until now, the Obamas had not indicated that they were interested in putting solar on The White House.
Today, however, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley and Energy Secretary Chu announced that the installation of solar PV and solar hot water panels on the roof of the White House Residence will indeed take place. The installations will be part of a DOE demonstration project aimed a showing the world that American solar technologies are available, reliable and ready for installation in homes across the country. According to the press release, “The PV system will convert sunlight directly to electricity. The solar hot water heater will have a solar collector facing the sun that will heat water for use in the White House residence. The Department of Energy will now begin a competitive procurement process to select the company responsible for the installations.”
Is isn’t likely that the panels on the White House will offset a large portion of the mansion’s energy use, but it is an “important symbolic step,” said Scott Sklar, president of The Stella Group, a strategic marketing and policy firm that works on distributed energy generation.
Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), who has solar panels on his own home, agrees that putting solar on the “nation’s most important roof is a powerful symbol calling on all Americans to rethink how we create energy.”
I really thought this would be a turning point in the commitment to renewable energy va-area but not yet I guess, maybe in the future this will change. I’d like to really see a huge change in the commitment of not just DC renewable energy but virginia renewable energy, NC renewable energy, Maryland and so on.
Very impressive…
good idea … but we left to wait when all the parts cheaper )
This is a good initiative and this project will inspire a lot of people to use solar panels.