The White House during the Carter administration was outfitted with solar panels. Then during the administration that followed – Ronald Reagan’s – those panels came down.
In response, but years later in 2010, it had become a mission of the organization 350.org to locate and then re-deliver one of those Carter-era panels back to the place where originally installed.
In an Aug. 15, 2013 press release, the 350.org group wrote: “In September of 2010, 350.org found one of the original Carter era-panels at Unity College in Maine, where it had been heating water for the cafeteria. [350.org founder Bill] McKibben and a group of Unity students decided to take a roadtrip to return the panel to the White House and request that President Obama reinstall it on the roof or commission a new set of panels.
“Over 50,000 people also signed onto a petition led by Sungevity, along with other solar companies, calling on the President to take action.
“The White House initially declined the request, but reversed course a month later when then Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu announced that the White House would put up a new set of panels by the end of Spring 2011. The administration missed that deadline, but appears to be moving forward with the commitment today.”
![SolarpanelBp[1]](https://alankandel.scienceblog.com/files/2012/12/SolarpanelBp1.jpg)
In the U.S. in 2012, a record 3,313 megawatts of solar capability was added, according to 350.org.
Moreover, “The market size for the U.S. industry grew from $8.6 billion in 2011 to $11.5 billion in 2012, according to GTM Research,” 350.org noted.
That all this has happened, speaks volumes.
For more, see: “President Obama is Putting Solar on the White House Roof!”
Published by Alan Kandel