They were put in a warehouse in virginia and forgotten.
Why did reagan remove the solar panels.
Ronald reagan helped tear down the berlin wall and he also helped tear down the white house s solar panels.
Reagan s political philosophy viewed the free market as the best arbiter of what was good for the country.
That also meant no solar panels.
Dirck halstead getty images.
Reagan was quoted as saying the panels were unsightly and unnecessary.
Originally panels were installed in the late 70s during president jimmy carter s administration but president ronald reagan removed them in 1986 because of a roof leak and decided not to.
President ronald reagan took office in 1981 and the solar panels were removed during his administration.
This symbolic installation was taken down in 1986 during the reagan presidency.
That system is working.
Author natalie goldstein wrote in global warming.
Seven years after the west wing roof party in 1986 the symbolic solar collectors met with roof repairs and they were never re installed.
In 1979 jimmy carter in a forward looking move installed solar panels in the roof of the white house.
In 1986 ronald reagan removed the solar panels installed by jimmy carter from the white house.
In 1991 unity college an environmentally centered college in maine acquired the panels and later installed them on their cafeteria.
Carter shows off his new solar panels at the installation ceremony in 1977.
Multiply by reagan s 32 solar panels and you get 33 6 kwh of clean energy every day for free.
It was clear reagan had a completely different take on energy consumption.
The average solar panel from the era produces approximately 1 05 kwh of energy every day.
And in 1986 the reagan administration quietly dismantled the white house solar panel installation while resurfacing the roof.