Obama’s Solar Initiatives Aim to Slash Emissions

The sunshine hits keep on coming for President Barack Obama’s administration. New executive actions and public-private solar commitments recently announced by the White House promise to save Americans $10 billion and haircut carbon emissions by 300 million metric tons. Obama’s solar initiatives — as well as the many other areas of clean and efficient energy he’s just announced — also seek to further evangelize and catalyze solar support and funding, through government agencies as well as corporations and cities who have committed money and promises of their own.

Given the exorbitant U.S. military budget, it’s no surprise that the White House is leading with a planned Department of Energy partnership with three military bases and several community colleges to pilot solar job training for veterans, in hopes of smartly transitioning 50,000 installers into the sector by 2020. Also on the docket is $68 billion for 540 efficiency projects (240 solar) from the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which looks to green American agriculture’s oversized carbon footprint.

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