Give a hand to these 17 Solar Pros and Companies Offering Free Solar Systems and Services to the White House for Earth Day

A few months back, I did a blog post suggesting that solar companies give away their solar products and/or services to the White House. Other companies were apparently thinking the same thing. It took a while, but we all finally got it together. As you’ll see at the bottom of this post, there’s a long list of contributors in some shape or form towards getting solar back on the White House.

• Solar installer Sungevity is offering the White House a 17kW PV system. They’ve also started a petition site, seeking 10,000 signatures, and I urge you to sign it.
• Inverter company, KACO New Energy is contributing the inverters for the PV system.
• Solar Thermal manufacturer and distributor, Free Hot Water, is donating a full residential solar hot water system, including any special design or engineering needs.
• Also, as you’ll see below, many other solar companies or solar professionals are offering their design, installation, or other components. Others, like me, aren’t installers or manufacturers, but are—or have already—supported this initiative through PR efforts.

This is truly a solar solidarity moment. Despite the recession and despite being competitors in many cases, the 17 companies or individuals have joined together to offer their contribution to putting solar back on the White House.

Having solar on the White House is good. Having it contributed by so many different companies from across the U.S., from California, to Florida, to D.C., and Texas, and Kansas, is even more inspiring.

Cynics are going to say that this is just a Solar PR stunt, and I have two responses to that.

First, let me say that gathering 17 competitors and virtual strangers, from red and blue states, for one collective gesture like this is like herding cats, as contributor Tom Dinkel of Sun Reports put it to me the other day. And yet, here we are. We did this individually and collectively because we all believe that solar on the White House would be an international symbol of America’s new and permanent commitment to renewable energy.

Second, if cynics insist that this is just a publicity stunt and not pure solar advocacy, fine. Because every morning I wake up to Chevron and other 19th century CO2 energy companies on radio and television, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to green-wash their constant environmental pollution by saying “Oh, look at this sun flower and happy frolicking child. Hey, hey, come on, we’re not all that bad. Slow down. Let’s not be radical (as if solar hot water hasn’t been around for 100 years and PV 50 years) Wait until the economy improves before we really commit to, you know, that ‘green’ energy thing.”

Well, solar companies don’t have billions in advertising dollars to counteract that golden green-wash messaging. We can’t tell consumers to speed up their solar adoption. Not on that dollar level. But we do have our voices. We can make symbolic gestures like this group of 17 “radicals." And you can still lend your voices too, and here’s how:

1) Show your support by signing up with the Sungevity petition and telling your friends to do the same. Their goal is 10,000 signatures.

2) And/or show your support by signing up with the Face Book page, and tell your friends to do the same. –Remind them to spread the word to their friends too. Make this Face Book viral. We don't need solar pros any more, but we do need numbers. Big numbers. Let's get to at least 10,000 fans.

3) Talk about this iniaitive. Blog about it. Tweet about it. Write a letter to the editor. Let people know that there’s this group of solar advocates and solar companies from across the U.S. that are so committed to solar they’ve worked together to offer free solar to the White House.

4) If you know reporters--any reporter in the press, in radio, your local t.v. station--tell them about this initiative and explain that it's not a PR stunt, but solar company's grass-roots way of fighting oil and coal company green-washing.

If you believe that solar is ready and able to be a larger part of America’s energy present and future, at least do the above three steps.

Finally, I’d just like to once again thank and acknowledge everyone who contributed to this solar grass roots initiative. The full list, in alphabetical order, is below (all contact info on the press release). All are equally worthy for getting us here on Earth Day 2010. Now, it’s up to the White House to respond. There will be logistical issues, I’m sure, but if we can get a man on the moon, surely we can get solar back on the White House.

Tor Valenza aka “Solar Fred” advises solar companies on marketing, communications, and public relations. Contact him through Unthink Solar or follow him on Twitter @SolarFred.