Californians Overwhelmingly Agree that Everyone Benefits When More People Go Solar, Poll Reveals

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly 9 in 10 Californians believe solar customers should be fairly compensated for the power they sell back to the grid, and 85% say the state should be doing more to encourage solar adoption, according to new polling released today by Global Strategy Group (GSG), North Star, and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

This broad consensus follows a series of decisions by state regulators that have hurt California’s solar industry, including a significant and rapid cut to compensation rates that solar customers receive for the unused power they sell back to the grid.

Californians overwhelmingly agree that more solar is good for the state’s economy and will save California families money. According to the poll, 84% of voters say that everyone benefits when more people go solar, and 79% don’t trust their utility to be honest about what is causing higher prices.

“California should be the state best positioned to capitalize on historic federal clean energy investments, but its own poor policy decisions are getting in the way,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “Californians up and down the state agree that their leaders need to do more to keep the state a solar and storage leader.”

The poll reveals strong backing for solar at all scales, as 87% support the construction of more utility-scale solar in the desert and 74% support the construction of a solar project in their own community, including 64% of respondents living in rural communities.

Nearly 9 in 10 respondents support federal clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including 75% of California Republicans. These results are consistent with national polling SEIA released last month showing overwhelming support for the IRA’s clean energy incentives.

“These data could not be clearer,” said GSG partner Andrew Baumann. “California voters are overwhelmingly supportive of solar across every metric. They think more solar will be good for the state’s economy, for electricity rates, and for reliability. So, it’s no wonder that they also think that California policymakers should stop making it harder to expand solar and instead do more to encourage its use.”

“In our incredibly polarized political environment, it is difficult to find an issue on which voters on both sides of the spectrum can agree,” said Dan Judy, Vice President of North Star Opinion Research. “But support for solar energy is remarkably strong among Republicans, independents, and Democrats, and it is an issue around which California elected leaders at all levels can unite.”

Read the poll results and the topline analysis.

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About SEIA®: 

The Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA) is leading the transformation to a clean energy economy, creating the framework for solar to achieve 30% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030. SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies and other strategic partners to fight for policies that create jobs in every community and shape fair market rules that promote competition and the growth of reliable, low-cost solar power. Founded in 1974, SEIA is the national trade association for the solar and solar + storage industries, building a comprehensive vision for the Solar+ Decade through research, education and advocacy. Visit SEIA online at www.seia.org and follow @SEIA on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Media Contact: 

Jen Bristol, SEIA’s Senior Director of Communications, jbristol@seia.org (202) 556-2886