Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton has said she would put rooftop solar panels back on the White House, harkening back to the first solar system installed on the residence during President Jimmy Carter’s tenure that was taken down by President Ronald Reagan.
There’s just one problem: President Barack Obama already installed solar panels on the White House’s roof last year.
Clinton told people at a townhall meeting in Iowa Tuesday she would reinstall solar panels on the White House roof. Clinton said Carter did “so much” to make the White House more energy efficient, adding that “President Reagan came and they removed everything,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
“The technology’s much better now,” Clinton said. “I would really welcome the idea of trying to set up the example, be a good model and to make a difference.”
Clinton’s enthusiasm about putting solar panels on the White House comes months after she unveiled her plan to install half a billion solar panels in the U.S. by the end of her first term in office if she’s elected.
“Through these goals, we will increase the amount of installed solar capacity by 700% by 2020, expand renewable energy to at least a third of all electricity generation, prevent thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of asthma attacks each year, and put our country on a path to achieve deep emission reductions by 2050,” Clinton’s website boasts.
Too bad for Clinton that Obama has already reinstalled solar panels on the White House. Last year, the president had enough solar panels installed to generate 44 kilowatt hours of electricity — for security reasons the entire roof couldn’t be covered in panels.
A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation of the White House solar array found it would likely only generate 16,272 kilowatt hours of power a year — enough to power just 2 percent of its estimated yearly energy needs.
Follow Michael on Facebook and Twitter
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.