Hello.

My name is Ali Zaidi, I am the Deputy Director

for Energy Policy with the Domestic Policy Council,

and just absolutely thrilled to welcome

all of you here today.

I have the -- before I have the pleasure

of introducing our first speaker,

do a few housekeeping notes.

First, I want to say hello to all of the people

who are joining us online.

This event is live streamed, so everything

you say will be heard all around the world,

which is awesome.

We will also, to engage our friends who are tuning

in online, be taking questions for panelists --

others throughout the day.

And the hashtags that you should be using

are either #WHchamps, or #ActOnClimate.

And then a last note of housekeeping,

which is perhaps the most important,

the restrooms are out these doors and to the left.

So out that door and -- well,

right that way or left that way.

So with that, I want to introduce

our first speaker, who is a counselor

to the President and really doesn't need much

of an introduction probably to many of you, who have worked

with him along the years.

John Podesta has been a tremendous leader

on both energy and climate issues from his time as chief

of staff to then president Clinton, as the founder

and head of the Center for American Progress,

and now as the guy who tells us that we've got

to do more every single day.

We are delighted to have him kick off today

and this series of fantastic speakers, panelists,

and champions that will be speaking today

and sharing their insights.

(applause)

John Podesta: Thank you, and good morning.

Welcome to the White House.

Thank you all for joining

us at the White House Solar Summit.

We're here today to recognize the

extraordinary leadership of 10 solar Champions

of Change, who were chosen out of nearly 200

nominations from around the country,

and to announce a set of new federal tools

and resources that will help leaders like the people

who will be recognized today bring solar energy

and solar jobs to their communities.

Throughout human history we've harnessed,

of course, the energy of the sun in ways large

and small, from lighting fires to powering

the international space station.

Today, the real and growing threat

of climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions

has made more urgent the need to capture

the sun's energy and to use that energy

to power our economy.

The electricity sector is the single

largest source of U.S. greenhouse

gas emissions, making up about

a third of total carbon dioxide emissions in 2012.

In 2009, President Obama pledged that

the United States would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions

by about 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

And we're on our way.

In 2012, we had the lowest emission since 1994.

But generating more renewable energy through

solar power is crucial -- is a crucial part

of the equation to keep us on target.

It's also what the best available science tells

us we must do.

Earlier this week, the Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change released an updated report,

the third in a series.

We need to drastically curb greenhouse gas

emissions beginning today, the IPC tells us, if we

have any hope of keeping average global

temperatures from spiraling out of control.

That means we need to double down, to triple

down on our global commitment to develop

clean energy resources, including solar,

as President Obama's climate action plan does,

when he pledged last summer that the United States would

double renewable electricity

generation by 2020.

We have a lot to do in a lot of arenas.

We need to make our homes and our businesses,

our appliances and our transportation

more energy efficient.

We need to look after the health of our oceans,

which absorb fully one third of the carbon

dioxide we emit, and are becoming dangerously

acidic as a result, and we urgently need to help

finance clean energy solutions in developing

countries, where leaders are rightly seeking

to boost economic growth and human development

by expanding access to electricity.

But investing in solar power makes sense

for our environment, it makes sense for our economy,

and it makes sense for our national security.

By almost any measure, the solar energy industry

has been amongst the fastest growing industries

in the United States over the last five years.

Last year, solar energy was the second largest

source of new electricity added to the grid,

only after natural gas.

Every four minutes, another American home

or business went solar.

Since President Obama took office, the United States

has deployed more than 12 gigawatts of solar power,

enough to power 1.4 million homes.

And that means good jobs for American workers,

jobs that can't be shipped overseas.

Today, estimates put employment in the solar

sector and nearly 150,000, and the power generated

through those solar installations

is more affordable than ever before.

Since early 2010, the average cost of solar

powers -- panels has dropped more

than 60 percent.

That means that more Americans can benefit

from installing solar panels in their

homes and businesses.

And the federal government has done its part

to lead by example.

Five years ago, there was not one renewable

energy project on the hundreds of millions

of acres of public lands in this country.

Today the Department of Interior is on track

to issue permits for enough renewable energy

generation on public lands to power more

than 6 million homes.

And the Department of Defense,

which is the single largest consumer of energy

in the country, has committed to deploying three gigawatts

of renewable energy on military

installations by 2025.

That's real progress, but we know it's not enough.

That's why we're here today.

Agencies from across the federal government

have worked together to come up with new funding

opportunities, new tools, and new resources

to help families, businesses, and communities access clean,

renewable, affordable solar power.

The Sun Shot program at the Department of Energy

-- and you'll hear from Secretary Moniz

in a minute -- is announcing a $15 million

solar market pathways funding opportunity to help state,

local, and tribal leaders develop multi-year solar

deployment plans for their communities.

Those plans could include creating community

solar programs, or using local financing mechanisms,

like Pace, commercial property assessed clean energy;

if you don't care for acronyms,

to deploy solar energy.

One of our champions for change, Jessica Bailey,

sitting in the front row, knows a little something

about just how much a difference financing

tools like Pace can make.

Jessica comes to us from Connecticut's Green Bank,

where she's worked since 2012.

She designed a state-wide program that helped

property owners get financing

for clean energy improvements.

In its first year, her program brought more

than $20 million in financing to Connecticut

to support over three megawatts of energy, and millions

of energy efficiency savings.

All of our states should be taking advantage

of Pace and innovative clean energy financing

tools as Jessica has pioneered in Connecticut.

And today the Environmental Protection

Agency is announcing that the Green Power

partnership is going to aim to double

the use of on-site renewable energy, including solar power

by the end of the decade.

Since 2001, the Green Power Partnership

has worked with schools, with businesses, and with

state, local, and federal agencies

to expand clean energy.

And the Department of Energy is announcing that

they will be releasing two new guides in the coming

months to help state and local business

leaders finance and deploy more clean energy.

By highlighting existing federal resources,

providing model contracts, and publishing case

studies, the Commercial Solar Deployment Playbook,

and the Updated Guide to Federal Financing

for Clean Energy will help our solar power boom

to keep going and keep strong.

And those measures will help our Champions

of Change go back into their communities and build on

their already considerable accomplishments to deploy

more green energy, to help more low income families

save money on their electric bills,

to create more jobs, to inspire others

to follow their lead.

Elyse Cherry from Boston Community Capital

has helped secure financing for over 17,000 solar

panels for affordable housing

in community facilities.

Henry Red Cloud has started one of the United

States' first 100-percent Native American owned

and operated renewable energy companies,

employing tribal members to manufacture and install

solar air heating systems on reservations

across the Great Plains.

Tim Sears cofounded a company that has installed

more than 4,000 solar projects and provided

more than 15,000 people with training

and job experience.

All of our champions of change have worked each

day to demonstrate what we all know to be true:

solar power is a smart investment, it's good for

our climate, it's good for our economy,

and it's good for our communities.

And deployed solar power can even make our

communities more resilient in the face

of extreme weather.

The science of climate change tells us that,

while it's impossible to attribute any one storm

to climate change, rising average global

temperatures will make our weather more extreme

over all; droughts will be longer lasting and more

severe, some places will see more torrential

downpours, and more floods; the seas,

of course, will rise, storm surge will be more

of a problem.

And since 2003, weather related

blackouts have doubled.

Severe weather is the leading cause

of power outages in the United States.

When the power grid is damaged or down,

it's more than a temporary inconvenience.

Extended power outages are a danger to public health,

they're a drain on local economies.

Homes and businesses with their own source

of power are more resilient to the impacts

of extreme weather.

So that's why, even as we gather to recognize

the achievement of our champions of change,

I want to challenge all the people in the audience

today and all the people watching to do more.

We need leaders like you to step up

in the coming weeks and months to make commitments

to deploy solar power in your communities.

We need you to partner with state

and local tribal leaders.

We need you to work with local businesses.

We need you to reach out to community development

financial institutions, and federal agencies,

and investment firms to raise financing

to bring solar power to low income neighborhoods.

If you do, we can curb the dangerous greenhouse

gas emissions that are damaging our climate;