White House Adding Solar Panels (Again)

The White House will be powered at least in part by the sun after the installation of solar panels and a solar water heater next spring, CNN reports. The system will provide some electricity and heat water for the first family. "If it has anything like the effect of the White House garden, it could be a trigger for a wave of solar installations across the country and around the world," says the founder of one environmental group, reports AP.

This isn't the first time that solar panels have been used at the White House. Liberals and conservatives have engaged in a tug-of-war over the technology: Jimmy Carter first installed panels on the roof of 1600 Pennsylvania, but Reagan had them torn out. It was George W. Bush who found a compromise—he used solar power, but only to power a maintenance shed.
(More White House stories.)