"The president, who [made] the announcement during a visit to Wal-Mart in Mountain View, California, [also highlighted] commitments by corporations to lift solar generation at their facilities. Wal-Mart, Apple Inc, Yahoo Inc, Google Inc and Ikea were among the companies making such commitments.

Several financial institutions, including Citigroup Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, were announcing new plans for "large scale investment and innovative programs" to develop solar and renewable energy installations, the White House said.

Obama's executive actions would support efforts at community colleges so that 50,000 workers would join the solar industry by 2020, it said.

Another initiative would press for $2 billion in energy efficiency upgrades for federal buildings over the next three years, building on another $2 billion commitment from 2011."

Jeff Mason reports for Reuters May 12, 2014. [2]