In 1979, President Carter had an array of 32 solar thermal panels installed atop the West Wing. At the formal dedication on June 20, he declared that: "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 a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people—harnessing the power of the sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil."
