Kathleen Hennessey
6:53 a.m. CDT, May 9, 2014
Reporting from Washington—
President Obama will promote his record on energy efficiency on Friday by touting several initiatives he says are taking hold across the country – as well as the completion of one very close to home.
After years of delay, solar panels have been installed on the first family’s residence at the White House, according to aides, who say Obama will make the announcement at a speech in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday.
The news makes good on a nearly four-year-old promise to return the renewable energy source to the most high-profile roof in the country. (President Carter had solar panels installed there, but President Reagan had them taken down in 1986.)
Obama’s plan, announced in October 2010, was a lead-by-example moment in a push to boost solar energy. But the idea, which sounded simple in concept, proved to come with several complications related to retrofitting a historic and tightly secured building.