Ronald Reagan Solar Panels White House

In 1986 when the price of energy was temporarily cheaper and americans minds were less focused on environmental issues president reagan ordered the panels removed from the white house roof.

Ronald reagan solar panels white house.

Under reagan funding was cut for the newly formed department of energy and in 1986 when the white house needed roof repairs under the solar thermal panels the reagan administration removed the panels and quietly decided to not reinstall them claiming it simply wasn t a cost effective option. The panels came down in 1986 at president reagan s request. This symbolic installation was taken down in 1986 during the reagan presidency. But in a curious parallel with the current occupant of the white house the panels weren t actually removed until 1986 five years after reagan took office.

On june 20 1979 the carter administration installed 32 panels designed to harvest the sun s rays and use them to heat water. And this week nearly three years after promising solar panels return to the white house for the first time since ronald reagan was. In 1991 unity college an environmentally centered college in maine acquired the panels and later installed them on their cafeteria. Solar panels finally back on the white house almost 30 years after reagan removed them new 50 comments by nathan ingraham may 9 2014 1 50pm edt.

Multiply by reagan s 32 solar panels and you get 33 6 kwh of clean energy every day for free. The white house has begun installing american made solar panels on the first family s residence as part of an energy retrofit. George charles szego the engineer who persuaded carter to install the solar panels reportedly claimed that reagan s chief of staff donald t. Reagan who didn t think much of solar energy also allowed the tax credit carter had instated to lapse.

Regan felt that the equipment was just a joke and he had it taken down the panels were removed in 1986 when work was being done on the white house roof below the panels. Reagan saw the solar panels installed by carter for what they were a public relations stunt and ordered them dismantled. The average solar panel from the era produces approximately 1 05 kwh of energy every day. 365 days a year 24 year that s 294 336 kwh of dirty energy bought and burned because of one bad decision by ronald reagan.