MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 5, 2025
The need for alternative sources of energy and a desire for energy independence prompted President Jimmy Carter to install the first solar panels on the roof of the White House in 1979. The panels were later removed by the Reagan administration in 1986 and placed in storage. In 1991, the array of 32 solar panels formerly atop the White House was brought to Unity College. Sixteen of the panels were used to heat water for more than a decade. The college, now known as Unity Environmental University, is still in possession of 28 of the panels while four others have found new homes. The university has held on to them because of their historic nature and because they’re a reminder of Carter’s work to advance renewable energy efforts.