July 18, 2010

BY COLIN HICKEY, Correspondent

WATERVILLE -- A former Unity College administrator started the process that led to the resurrection of the solar panels that once sat atop the White House roof.

Former President Jimmy Carter had the panels installed in 1979 as a symbolic gesture to draw attention to his vision to reshape national policy to emphasize renewable energy sources.

But the solar panels came down seven years later, and Carter's forward-looking energy vision for the nation disappeared as well.

Unity College, though, didn't let the solar panels rot away in storage.

Instead, the small college known as a leader in environmental education had them installed in its cafeteria where they heated water for about 12 years, according to Unity spokesman Mark Tardif.

The story of the Carter solar panels, including Unity College's prominent role in the tale, is the subject of the film "A Road Not Taken," a 66-minute documentary by Swiss producers Christina Hemaner and Roman Keller slated this afternoon on this, the final day of the 13th annual Maine International Film Festival.

Tardif said the functional life of the solar panels ended several years ago, but the buzz created by them is growing by the day.

Unity College gained attention recently when it donated one of the 32 original panels to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

Tardif said Unity donated another panel to the Carter Center in Georgia.

"A Road Not Taken," shown earlier this year at an environmental festival in the nation's capital, has further increased the publicity glare.

Tardif said ABC News contacted Unity about doing a story last week and Detroit Public Television conducted interviews at the college this summer for a documentary it plans to air nationally called the "The Future of Energy."

Several people associated with Unity College are interviewed in "A Road Not Taken," including Unity President Mitchell Thomashow.

But Tardif said perhaps more significant than Unity's ties to the movie is the fact the college is a beacon for a new direction in energy consumption.

Less than 300 yards from the remaining Carter administration solar panels installed in the college's cafeteria is Unity House, the college's solar-powered home.

"It is the first solar-powered single-family home in the U.S. that is truly affordable," Tardif said. "It produces more energy than it consumes."

In this sense, then, Unity College hopes to be a new ray of hope for the forces of renewable energy.

"That is our message," Tardif said. "The future is now."

Colin Hickey is an English teacher at Regional School Unit 18