16 hours ago

The White House is finally on the solar grid, in response to prodding by environmentalists and nearly four years after then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu pledged that solar panels and a solar water heater would be installed on the historic building's roof.

The American-made panels are converting sunlight into energy at the first family's residence as part of President Barack Obama's "commitment to lead by example to increase the use of clean energy in the U.S.," said Matt Lehrich, a White House spokesman.

The long-awaited announcement came as Obama on Friday touted a raft of administration initiatives aimed at boosting the use of alternative energy, as part of his alert on climate change - a message that resounds with his liberal base but faces opposition from congressional Republicans, who the president said Friday were "wasting time" arguing about what he said was a settled debate.

"Climate change is real and we have to act now," Obama said at a California Wal-Mart as he praised the company for embracing solar energy. He sought to counter Republican criticism that addressing climate change will cost jobs, saying "there are cost-effective ways to tackle climate change and create jobs at the same time."

He suggested a growing consensus that climate change is a threat: "Unfortunately, inside of Washington we've still got some climate deniers who shout loud, but they're wasting everybody's time on a settled debate," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that if Obama were serious about creating jobs he'd change course.

"If the president really wanted to be helpful and move America toward energy independence, he'd do things like approving the Keystone pipeline, stopping the war on coal," McConnell said.

The panels on the White House are a part of a plan to improve the energy efficiency of the building and "demonstrate that historic buildings can incorporate solar energy and energy efficiency upgrades," Lehrich said.

It's estimated that the upgrades will pay for themselves in energy savings over the next eight years - if the next president doesn't remove them. President Jimmy Carter installed 32 panels in 1979, when an Arab oil embargo spiked fuel prices, but President Ronald Reagan removed them in 1986 when the roof was resurfaced.

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Solar panels finally arrive atop the White House

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May 13, 2014 at 4:43 am by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Water Heater Install