“The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our nation. These are facts and we simply must face them … I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States…. I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this nation’s first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of 20% of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000… To give us energy security, I am asking for the most massive peacetime commitment of funds and resources in our nation’s history to develop America’s own alternative sources of fuel — from coal, from oil shale, from plant products for gasohol, from unconventional gas, from the sun… I will urge Congress to create an energy mobilization board which … will have the responsibility and authority to cut through the red tape, the delays, and the endless roadblocks to completing key energy projects. We will protect our environment…. I’m proposing a bold conservation program to involve every state, county, and city and every average American in our energy battle. This effort will permit you to build conservation into your homes and your lives at a cost you can afford…. Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense — I tell you it is an act of patriotism.”
When the Reagan administration removed the solar panels in 1986, Reagan’s Chief of Staff commented that, “he felt the equipment was just a joke.”