Obama to unveil new commitments to solar and energy efficiency

On Friday, President Obama plans to announce a sweeping package of commitments — over 300 in total — from companies and government agencies to increase the deployment of solar panels, and make buildings more energy efficient. The announcements will take place at a Walmart(s WMT) in Mountain View, California. While the commitments are a far cry from the kind of financing that the green stimulus provided, the announcements are the latest way for Obama to highlight his attention to environmentalism, clean energy and climate change. Earlier this week, he released the massive climate change report.

One of the more symbolic announcements will be that the White House has finally managed to install solar panels on the first family’s residence, according to reports. To note, this was a discussion started four years ago. The White House had solar panels back in the 1970’s, installed by Jimmy Carter’s administration, but…