The world lost a forward-thinking clean energy proponent, who 44 years ago recommended a solar strategy to move the U.S. toward energy security by using abundant, clean energy sources.December 30, 2024James 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 lasting part of his legacy is his support for clean and renewable energy.Carter served at a time when domestic energy policies were under scrutiny as a result of the Arab oil embargo that had triggered a worldwide energy crisis in the early 1970s. Shortly after taking office Carter described the energy crisis as the Nation’s greatest challenge. His National Energy Plan included new laws and regulations, with an emphasis on energy conservation and efficiency, along with the development of alternate energy technologies.The President forecast that by 1985 the United States could reduce the growing energy demand, reduce oil imports and lower gasoline consumption. His administration set the lofty goal of meeting 20% of U.S. energy needs from clean energy by the year 2000.As an advocate for clean energy, Carter had 32 solar thermal panels installed on the White House in 1979. At the dedication ceremony he stated, “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 heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”Carter referred to solar as the most renewable energy that we will ever see and pushed Americans to use it to replace a dwindling supply of fossil fuels. Solar energy was still costly and had yet to be embraced, yet he believed at the time that that solar energy was both feasible and cost effective. “Solar energy will not pollute our air or water. We will not run short of it. No one can ever embargo the sun or interrupt its delivery to us,” 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 considered “a challenge as important as exploring our first frontiers or building the greatest industrial society on Earth”. His bold clean energy commitments included earmarking $1 billion in 1980 to stimulate renewable forms of energy; he directed the Tennessee Valley Authority to become a solar showcase; and he proposed tax credits to speed the development of solar energy. Carter also started a solar bank to encourage residential and commercial use of solar energy.One of President Carter’s most significant accomplishments was the creation of the Department of Energy (DOE). While the previous President, Gerald F
Sab. Gen 11th, 2025
