Case of the missing solar panels

It is no secret that President Barack Obama is a promoter of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar, and Congress has improperly provided massive subsidies for the production of that costly power.

So it is ironic that the Obama administration's own promises to install solar panels on the roof of the White House by this spring came and went without the panels actually being installed.

If the project is eventually completed, it would be the first return of solar panels to the roof of the White House since President Jimmy Carter had a $30,000 system installed to provide hot water to some offices in the West Wing of the building. The panels were later removed by the administration of President Ronald Reagan.

The Obama administration says it still plans to restore solar panels to the White House, and that the federal government should "lead by example" in promoting solar power. But it says that's a complicated process.

It is indeed. When the administration announced the plan to put solar panels back on the White House, the Energy Department provided an accompanying handbook on the use of solar power in federal buildings. The book was 104 pages long! No wonder the project has been delayed!

It seems the administration's desire for alternative energy has been thwarted by excessive federal bureaucracy.

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