U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Council of Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley have announced President Obama's plans to install solar panels and a solar hot water heater on the roof of the White House residence.
These two solar installations will be part of a Department of Energy (DOE) demonstration project showing that American solar technologies are available, reliable and ready for installation in homes throughout the country, Chu and Sutley said. The DOE will now begin a competitive procurement process to select the company responsible for the installations.
This announcement is made on the one-year anniversary of President Obama's Executive Order 13514 on Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, which called on the Federal Government to lead by example towards a clean energy economy and reduce, measure and report direct and indirect greenhouse gas pollution, the DOE notes.
‘Putting solar on the roof of the nation's most important home is a powerful symbol calling on all Americans to rethink how we create energy,’ said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. ‘It's an example of how each one of us can improve energy security, employ Americans and cut energy costs.’ Resch added that earlier this year, he met with President Obama and encouraged him to install a solar system on the White House.
SOURCES: Department of Energy, Solar Energy Industries Association
