奥巴马在白宫屋顶安装太阳能电池板

 

Obama said in 2010 that he would retrofit his family's new home with solar panels starting in 2011, then use the power generated to heat water for the first family and provide some electricity. But the project remained dark until late 2013, when the installation finally started.

 

Obama wants to use his personal example to spur families and businesses to do more to reduce reliance（信赖） on foreign energy and cut emissions¹ blamed for global warming. "Solar panels at the White House are a really important message that solar is here, we are doing it, we can do a lot more," Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a video released by the White House.

 

The solar components², converters and the labor³ to install the panels were all domestic, according to the White House, which declined to name any of the companies involved in the project.

 

The panels are expected to generate 6.3 kilowatts⁴ of solar power whenever the sun shines, the White House said.

 

"Being at the White House, we do have some security concerns. We can't cover the entire roof, although that would be good from an energy savings⁵ standpoint," said James Doherty, the White House usher⁶.

 

For some climate change activists⁷, the years of delay underscored a lack of urgency. Bill McKibben of the environmental group 350.org said the project was symbolically⁸ significant, but also depressingly protracted⁹.

 

"At this pace, we'll solve global warming right about the time that we're 30 feet under water," McKibben said in an interview.

 

Obama isn't the first president to deploy¹⁰ solar at the White House. President Jimmy Carter spent $30,000 on a solar water-heating system for West Wing offices in the late 1970s, but his successor, Ronald Reagan, tossed the panels after he moved in. President George W. Bush's solar systems powered a maintenance building and some of the mansion¹¹, plus provided heated water for the pool.

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