Reagan Solar Panels White House

George charles szego the engineer who persuaded carter to install the solar panels reportedly claimed that reagan s chief of staff donald t.

Reagan solar panels white house.

In 1986 ronald reagan removed the solar panels installed by jimmy carter from the white house. This symbolic installation was taken down in 1986 during the reagan presidency. They were removed by president reagan in 1986 due to a roof leak and never replaced. When the reagans moved into the white house in 1981 they inherited 32 solar panels generating carbon free electricity on the west wing roof.

The 32 panels were ripped out in 1986 as yes you guessed right. To understand what happened we have to go back to the reagan administration. In 1979 jimmy carter in a forward looking move installed solar panels in the roof of the white house. The reagan administration weren t fans of solar.

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. In 1991 unity college an environmentally centered college in maine acquired the panels and later installed them on their cafeteria. Reagan who didn t think much of solar energy also allowed the tax credit carter had instated to lapse. Here is a video we created on the issue.

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. That system is working. Five years later president reagan inexplicably had the free clean energy sources removed. The white house did not have solar panels in 2000.

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. Solar panels were installed in the late 1970s to provide hot water to the white house residence.