October 5, 2016
Sponsored by Morgan Lyons
Solar Continues Seeing Strong Bipartisan Support
The Pew Research Center released a survey this week titled The Politics of Climate, an overview of the stark political divides in a variety of climate issues and policies. Of the more notable sections in the survey was one that polled public support for increases in different forms of energy.
Solar polled at 89 percent favorable among U.S. adults, higher than any other energy source, including wind, nuclear, natural gas, coal, etc.
Solar has always been bipartisan, and when you consider the polarity of other data in these results, its favorability is even more impressive. Wind was the only other energy source with positive results, polling at 83 percent favorable, while all other options had more opposition than support.
The Pew Research survey also took tabs on perceptions of residential solar, and the results are encouraging. It shows that 41 percent of all Americans say they have given serious consideration to installing solar panels on their own home, for reasons including energy cost savings and helping the environment.
Some 44 percent of actual homeowners surveyed have seriously considered going solar in the last year (40 percent), or have already had it installed (4 percent). The data breaks down geographically as well, indicating that two-thirds of homeowners in the West have seriously considered or already installed solar systems.
The cost to install solar has dropped by more than 70 percent in the last decade, which explains why almost half of the U.S. population is seriously considering it. Numbers like this would be unimaginable just a few years ago, but good policies, federal, state and local incentives, and declining manufacturing and install costs are opening up markets and accessibility that the solar industry has never seen before.
It is our view that as costs keep dropping and other barriers fall, future Pew Research studies will see more growth in solar adoption & favorability in the years ahead.
