White House Misses Solar Panel Deadline

The Associated Press reports:

Last October, the Obama administration announced plans to install solar panels on the roof of the White House by the spring of this year, returning the power of the sun to the pinnacle of prominence a quarter-century after Jimmy Carter's pioneering system was taken down.

Spring has come and gone, and the promised panels have yet to see the light of day.

Administration officials blame the complexities of the contracting process, and say the solar project is still an active one. But they can't say when it'll be complete.

Environmental groups say the symbolism is telling — and disappointing.

"On we'll go," sighed Bill McKibben, founder of the climate activist group 350.org. "One more summer of beautiful, strong sunlight going to waste, just bouncing off the White House roof."

McKibben and other environmentalists say the failure to meet its own deadline reflects an administration that's been long on green rhetoric but sometimes disappointingly short on practical accomplishments.