WASHINGTON — For the first time since the Carter administration, solar panels are helping provide electricity for the White House.
In a YouTube video released to the public Friday, the Obama administration announced a long-promised installation of solar panels on the White House roof had been completed, giving the executive mansion a renewable source of "6.3 kilowatts of solar generation," according to White House spokesperson Matt Lehrich.
The panels and the system that convert solar energy into electricity are American-made, Lehrich said, and the solar array is part of a larger plan to retrofit the White House for improved energy efficiency.
"The retrofit includes the installation of energy-saving equipment such as updated building controls and variable speed fans," he said.
The completion of the White House solar array is part of a larger solar energy push President Obama is scheduled announce Friday. The announcement is part of the president's larger effort to use executive power and the bully pulpit to take action on climate change without the cooperation of Republicans in Congress, who have generally blocked efforts to combat climate change in recent years.