Energy

Solar triumph at the White House

English

The White House is preparing to announce plans to put solar panels on its roof, marking a victory for clean-energy activists who have been campaigning for the move.

Last month, founder of green group 350.org Bill McKibben failed to persuade Barack Obama’s administration to reinstall a solar panel that graced the White House roof during Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

But today, the White House Council on Environmental Quality will confirm plans to install solar panels by 2011, according to Associated Press. The panels will heat water for the president’s living quarters and provide some electricity.

McKibben and fellow activists argued that the move would signal Obama is still committed to tackling global warming, in spite of the failure to push climate legislation through the senate.