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The world has lost a forward-thinking clean energy advocate who 44 years ago recommended a solar strategy to move the United States toward energy security through the use of abundant, clean energy sources.
James Earl Carter, Jr., born October 1, 1924, was the 39th President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981. He died on December 29, 2024 at the age of 100 and is remembered for his diplomacy, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. But perhaps the most enduring part of his legacy was his support for clean, renewable energy.
Carter took office at a time when national energy policies were under scrutiny as a result of the Arab oil embargo that had triggered a global energy crisis in the early 1970s. Shortly after taking office, Carter described the energy crisis as the nations greatest challenge. His National Energy Plan included new laws and regulations, emphasizing energy conservation and efficiency, along with the development of alternative energy technologies.
He predicted that by 1985 the United States would be able to reduce growing energy demand, cut oil imports and reduce gasoline consumption. His administration set the ambitious goal of meeting 20 percent of U.S. energy needs with clean energy by the year 2000.
As an advocate of clean energy, Carter had 32 solar thermal panels installed on the White House in 1979. At the dedication ceremony, he declared: “In the year 2000, this solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy. (…) A generation from now, this solar water heater may be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it may be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”
Carter referred to solar energy as the most renewable energy we will ever see and pushed Americans to use it to replace a dwindling supply of fossil fuels. Solar energy was still expensive and had not yet been adopted, but he believed at the time that it was feasible and cost effective. “Solar energy will not pollute our air or our water. We will not lack it. No one will be able to seize our sun or cut off its supply,” Carter said. He called on Americans to turn this vision and dream into a solar reality.
In 1978, he launched a solar strategy, which he viewed as “as important a challenge as exploring our first frontiers or building the greatest industrial society on Earth.” His bold commitments to clean energy included allocating $1 billion by 1980 to stimulate renewable forms of energy; he directed the Tennessee Valley Authority to become a solar showcase; and he proposed tax credits to accelerate solar energy development. Carter also launched a solar bank to encourage residential and commercial use of solar power.
One of Carters most significant achievements was the creation of the Department of Energy (DOE). Although the previous president, Gerald Ford, had initiated the process of creating the DOE, it was Carter who made it a reality in 1977. Carter also created the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and signed the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURPA), which created a market for energy from nonpublic producers by requiring electric companies to buy energy from small, independent producers.
The solar panels he had placed on the White House were proof that his message was being put into practice. The panels were manufactured in the U.S. by a Virginia company, InterTechnology Solar, one of two companies that received funding in 1976 as part of the U.S. governments National Solar Demonstration Program, under the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA). In 1977, the ERDA became part of the DOE. InterTechnology Solar was dissolved in 1991.
Although some say that the solar panels were removed from the White House because Ronald Reagan did not like them, they were actually removed in 1986, when work was being done on the White House roof. However, it is not an exaggeration to say that Reagan was not a fan of clean energy.
When the panels were removed, they were stored in Virginia, where they remained until 1991, when the relics came to the attention of Peter Marbach, then director of development at Unity College, a small Maine college whose mission was environmental education. Marbach contacted former President Carter and, with the help of William Cohen, then a senator from Maine, obtained permission to install the panels at Unity College. Marbach drove the Unity College sports bus to Virginia to pick up the panels. Because the panels were poorly stored in storage, many were broken, leaving Unity with only 16.
Unity College launched a campaign to refurbish and install solar thermal panels on the roof, and donations poured in. The panels were installed in the college cafeteria, where they were used to heat water for the next 14 years. The college has one of the thermal panels on display on campus, and others went to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Carter Center in Georgia.
Continuing the legacy
After leaving office, Jimmy Carter remained dedicated to advancing his vision for clean energy. In 2017, the Carters’ land in Plains, Georgia became the site of a 1.3 MW solar facility, which supplies half of the city’s power. SolAmerica Energy, a solar and storage solutions provider based in Atlanta, Georgia, installed nearly 4,000 solar modules on single-axis trackers. Georgia Power signed a 25-year power purchase agreement. In 2020, the solar farm was planted with pollinator-friendly grasses as part of the Photovoltaic Stormwater Management Research and Testing (PV-Smart) project, managed by the Great Plains Institute, DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Fresh Energy, and the University of Minnesota. The goal of PV-Smart is to develop resources for estimating stormwater runoff at ground-mounted solar installations, as well as stormwater management and permitting and water quality best practices. The one in Plains, Georgia, is one of five installations in the country.
President Jimmy Carter’s legacy goes far beyond clean energy. In 1982, he created the Carter Center to promote and expand human rights, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize. He remained active well into retirement, helping build homes for Habitat for Humanity, traveling widely to conduct peace negotiations, overseeing elections and working to eradicate infectious diseases. |
