Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Solar Energy and Clean Energy Incentives Among Californians

A new poll by Global Strategy Group (GSG), North Star, and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reveals that nearly 90% of Californians believe solar customers should be fairly compensated for the power they contribute back to the grid. Additionally, 85% say the state should do more to promote solar energy adoption.

This strong public support comes in the wake of decisions by state regulators that have negatively impacted California’s solar industry, including sharp reductions in compensation rates for surplus solar energy.

Californians widely recognize the economic benefits of solar, with 84% of voters agreeing that more solar energy benefits everyone. Moreover, 79% of respondents express distrust toward utilities, believing they are not transparent about the causes of rising energy prices. Support for clean energy incentives is also broad, with nearly 9 in 10 backing federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including 75% of Republicans in the state. These findings align with national polling showing strong backing for the IRA’s clean energy initiatives.“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.”

“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.”