by Brianna Crandall — October 6, 2010—U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley announced on October 5 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 demonstration project showing that American solar technologies are available, reliable and ready for installation in homes throughout the country.
Secretary Chu and Chair Sutley made the announcement during CEQ’s 2010 GreenGov Symposium, which is bringing together leaders from federal, state, and local governments, nonprofit and academic communities, and the private sector to identify opportunities around greening the federal government.
The White House’s photovoltaic 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.
The announcement was made on the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s Executive Order 13514, which called on the federal government to lead by example towards a clean energy economy and to reduce, measure, and report direct and indirect greenhouse gas pollution. At that time, DOE also released “Procuring Solar Energy: A Guide for Federal Facility Decision Makers,” which is available online.
The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency Web site offers information about state, local and utility rebates for solar generation throughout the country.
