President Obama has always made environmental issues a big part of his platform, and now the White House is taking another step towards going green by installing solar panels. According to The Washington Post, the White House residence is having panels installed on the roof of the First Family's residence, a move that's been in the works for nearly three years. Back when the White House made its announcement in 2010, the administration said that it would conduct a bidding for between 20 and 50 panels, and those being installed now are said to be made in the US.
A Washington Post source from inside the White House says that the move is "a part of an energy retrofit that will improve the overall energy efficiency of the building," with other planned changes including updated building controls and variable speed fans. Oddly enough, it's been nearly 30 years since solar panels last graced the roof of the White House — Jimmy Carter had panels installed in the late '70s, but Ronald Reagan had them removed in 1986.