Recent polls from the Global Strategy Group (GSG), North Star, and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) revealed that 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.
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.
Meanwhile, polls from the Global Strategy Group (GSG), North Star, and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) also revealed that Texas voters overwhelmingly believe that policymakers should not get in the way of solar growth. Nearly three-quarters of Texans agree there is too much red tape standing in the way of new solar projects.
While some Texas officials are considering policies that make solar projects more difficult, 89% of Texans — including 83% of self-identified Trump voters — agree that farmers and property owners should have the right to lease their land for solar projects.
In addition, a majority of Texans oppose proposals that impose higher fees and more regulatory hurdles for solar projects. More than 80% of Texans want lawmakers to maintain a level playing field and let solar compete with oil and gas.
“Texas officials who hinder solar development are out of step with what voters want: more solar,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “The Texas solar industry is continuing the state’s rich legacy as an energy leader and the state’s economy and electric grid are stronger because of it.”
The poll also reveals that Texans believe the state’s electric grid is outdated and needs modernizing, with 90% of voters — including 85% of Republican voters — in agreement. In addition, 73% of Texans believe that solar and battery storage make the grid more resilient.
Texas installed the most solar power of any state through the first half of 2024, and the Lone Star State is expected to rank first nationally in solar growth over the next five years, but that historic growth could be undermined by state policymakers that want to play favorites in the energy market. Texas’ solar industry invested $13.4 billion into the state economy in 2023 and 76% of Texans agree that solar is good for the economy.
“Texas voters from across the political and geographic spectrums not only see the benefits of solar but want state policymakers to do more to encourage it,” said GSG partner Andrew Baumann. “The last thing voters want is government getting in the way of solar power.”
Solar is also the most popular source of power in Texas, with 73% agreeing that their electric utility should get more of its electricity from solar power, outpacing all other sources, including natural gas (67%).
In addition, nearly 80% of voters support federal clean energy incentives, which is consistent with national polling SEIA released last month.
“Energy built the state of Texas, and this survey makes it clear that voters want Texas to continue to be a leader in energy production well into the future,” said Dan Judy, Vice President of North Star Opinion Research. “Elected officials of both parties should work to make it easier to develop more solar energy in Texas.”
Read the poll and topline analysis.
Tagged with SEIA, solar