Tim Duggan

February 17, 2007

On Monday, February 12, the House of Representatives approved a bill that calls for the installation of solar panels on the Department of Energy's headquarters in Washington D.C. The bill, sponsored by Minnesota Rep. Jim Oberstar, allocates $30 million from the Federal Buildings Fund to pay for the project. Rep. Oberstar first proposed such legislation thirty years ago; however, it took until this week for the project to win approval of his colleagues.

The project, otherwise known as Solar Net, will consist of a "curtain" of solar panels that will be 300 feet long and 130 feet high. According to Rep. Oberstar, "It is only fitting that the Energy Department be at the cutting edge of utilizing and supporting applied research in alternative energy sources."

While it goes without saying that the Solar Net will have no serious impact on the country's fossil energy use, the project is important for its symbolic value. The era of Sen. James Inhofe's "climate-change-as-hoax" seems to be on the wane. With the new Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, and the new Speaker of the House establishing a special committee on climate change (to be headed by Massachusetts Rep. Markey), Washington seems to be developing the much-awaited political consensus to establish a forward looking energy plan.

The new façade on the Department of Energy's headquarters will not solve our nation's energy problems, nor will it cure global warming. One can only hope, however, that the new Solar Net will serve as a "beacon on a hill," representing a renewed sense of determination of the United States to serve as a leader in the field of renewable energy.

Sources:

H.R. 798, 110th Cong. (2007)

Press Release, Rep. James L. Oberstar, House Approves Solar Energy Project (Feb. 12, 2007)

Frederic J. Fromer, New Transportation Committee Chairman Wins Passage of Solar Energy Legislation, Int'l Herald Trib., Feb. 12, 2007, available at http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/12/america/NA-GEN-US-Solar-Energy.php.