What better example can a President set to guide the country to a more sustainable path than to put solar panels on his own home? Many environmental organizations and companies have banded together to encourage President Obama to install a new set of solar panels on the White House.

In 1979, Jimmy Carter became the first President to put 32 solar panels on the White House in the midst of the second oil crisis. The first group of panels installed just above the Oval Office was solar thermal and exclusively used to heat water in the White House staff kitchen. His forward-looking perspective on renewables created the first wave of innovation and research on solar technology in the United States. The day the system was unveiled, Carter delivered a speech full of optimism for the potential of renewable energy:

This dependence on foreign sources of oil is of great concern to all of us. In the year 2000, the solar water heater behind me which is being dedicated today will still be here supplying cheap efficient energy. A generation from now this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be just a small part of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.

I guess you can say the solar panels were an example of a road not taken. In 1986, the White House roof required repairs and Ronald Reagan had the panels removed. He never ordered that they be reinstalled and squelched many of the solar programs that Carter put in place. Some people believe that Reagan had purposefully not re-installed the solar panels to advance his own political agenda. Others say that the President did not put the panels back on the White House because it wasn’t cost efficient. I think the former seems more believable.

The White House panels were later found in government storage in Franconia, Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. With the help of actress Glenn Close, they were acquired in 1991 by Unity College, a liberal arts college that emphasizes the environment and natural resources in their curriculum. The college refurbished 16 of the solar thermal panels to heat water for their cafeteria. The system continued to be in operation until 2005. Although the system is no longer in use, the solar panels are still atop the school’s cafeteria as a symbol of what may have been.

At this time, the White House roof is still bare, although they have employed solar in other parts of the property. In 2003, during the Bush administration, solar panels were installed on the White House grounds. This time, there was little fanfare. Two solar thermal systems, including one on the pool cabana for water heating, and a 9 kW photovoltaic system consisting of 167 panels were installed on a maintenance shed. It was actually the National Park Service’s decision to make use of solar on the White House grounds, similar to other solar installations made by the Park Service throughout the country. The Park Service, who is responsible for the building, had authorized that any improvements of its facilities should include environmentally-friendly design when reasonable.

The movement to get solar on the White House is intensifying as a coalition of solar companies led by Sungevity has offered to install an 18 kW photovoltaic system for free. They have even offered to lease the system for 10 years at a cost of $537 per month if the President is uncomfortable with the donation worth $108K. Will the effort be successful? The outlook is positive. This past May, Obama was asked if panels will go up on the White House. “I think it’s a great idea,” he said.