Solar on the White House

http://www.solaronthewhitehouse.com/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/10/05/commitment-lead-solar-white-house

Commitment to Lead: Solar on the White House

Posted by Nancy Sutley on October 05, 2010 at 11:48 AM EST

We kicked off the first annual GreenGov Symposium today at George Washington University with more than 1,000 attendees, and keynotes from U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Janine Benyus, president of The Biomimicry Institute and co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild.  Secretary Chu and I had the honor of announcing plans to install solar panels and a solar hot water heater on the roof of the White House Residence, a project that demonstrates American solar technologies are available, reliable, and ready for installation in homes throughout the country.

Secretary Chu and Chair Sutley announce plans to install solar panels on the White House Residence, October 5, 2010. (William Atkins, the George Washington University)

It was just one year ago today that President Obama signed an Executive Order asking the Federal Government to look inward and push ourselves to operate more sustainably.  He asked us to set, and then meet, some aggressive goals, and to leverage our assets, our purchasing power, and our large and dedicated work force to help advance clean energy opportunities, cut the pollution that is degrading our planet, and save American taxpayer dollars in the process.  Agencies across the Federal Government are excited and proud of what they are doing and what they intend to do to live up to the promise of GreenGov.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley, GW President Steven Knapp, and Director of GW Office of Sustainability Meghan Chapple-Brown participate in the first annual GreenGov Symposium, October 5, 2010. (William Atkins, the George Washington University)

Over the next few days, the Symposium will cover a broad range of topics including clean energy, water efficiency, achieving zero waste, greening the supply chain, and sustainable communities.   To view the complete workshop agenda, visit: www.whitehouse.gov/greengov/symposium
Nancy Sutley is Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality