{"id":179465,"date":"2024-06-27T09:53:14","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T13:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=179465"},"modified":"2026-07-09T15:12:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T19:12:57","slug":"americans-perceptions-of-solar-power-in-their-own-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/americans-perceptions-of-solar-power-in-their-own-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"3. Americans\u2019 perceptions of solar power in their own lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Large-scale solar power generates about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/tools\/faqs\/faq.php?id=427&amp;t=3\">4% of all electricity<\/a> in the U.S. Capacity has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/06\/04\/climate\/us-wind-energy-solar-power.html?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share\">almost doubled<\/a> in the last year. Smaller-scale installations \u2013 including solar panels on things like homes and public buildings \u2013 have also seen sharp growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=179526\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dee2de\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dee2de;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_3-01.png?resize=480,415 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_3-01.png?resize=782,676 782w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_3-01.png?resize=840,726 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"363\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_3-01.png?w=420\" alt=\"Chart shows Most Americans say that large-scale solar isn\u2019t too common in their community\" class=\"wp-image-179526 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new Center survey asked Americans how common three different types of solar panel developments are in their community: small-scale solar development on homes, somewhat larger solar developments on buildings and in parking lots, and large-scale solar panel farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans report that home solar is the most common of these three types in their community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>18% of Americans say solar panels are extremely or very common on a person\u2019s home in their community. An additional 31% say solar panels are somewhat common.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>13% say solar panels are extremely or very common on buildings or in parking lots in their community; 26% say this is somewhat common.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>8% say large solar panel farms are extremely or very common in their community and 18% say they are somewhat common. A majority (64%) say large-scale solar developments are not too or not at all common.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are only modest differences in perceptions of solar panel development between Republicans and Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2023\/06\/28\/what-americans-think-about-an-energy-transition-from-fossil-fuels-to-renewables\/\">a 2023 Pew Research Center survey<\/a>, 7% of homeowners said they have installed solar panels on their home; an additional 28% said they were seriously considering it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=179527\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d9dfda\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d9dfda;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_3-02.png?resize=480,872 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_3-02.png?resize=782,1421 782w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_3-02.png?resize=840,1526 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"763\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_3-02.png?w=420\" alt=\"Chart shows Westerners are most likely to say home solar panels are common in their community\" class=\"wp-image-179527 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Westerners are most likely to report that home solar panels are common in their community. About one-third of Westerners say solar panels installed on a home are extremely or very common in their community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In contrast, just 6% of Midwesterners say home solar panels are extremely or very common in their community. A majority (64%) say they are not too or not at all common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The perception of solar development in the U.S. is consistent with geographic data on solar panel installation. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/todayinenergy\/detail.php?id=54379\">U.S. Energy Information Administration\u2019s Residential Energy Consumption Survey<\/a>, the West leads the country in small-scale solar installments, followed by the Northeast, the South and the Midwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The regional differences are more modest when it comes to perceptions of large-scale solar development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Large-scale solar power generates about 4% of all electricity in the U.S. Capacity has almost doubled in the last year. Smaller-scale installations \u2013 including solar panels on things like homes and public buildings \u2013 have also seen sharp growth. The new Center survey asked Americans how common three different types of solar panel developments are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[270,417,38],"tags":[],"bylines":[957,966],"collection":[],"datasets":[2779],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[518],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-179465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy","category-partisanship-issues","category-political-issues","bylines-alec-tyson","bylines-brian-kennedy","datasets-american-trends-panel-wave-148","formats-report","research-teams-science"],"label":false,"post_parent":179393,"word_count":340,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/americans-perceptions-of-solar-power-in-their-own-lives\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":179675,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":179675,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":179675,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":179675,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":179675,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyA1.png?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"social":{"id":179676,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyFeatured.png","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_24.06.27_energyFeatured.png?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"","chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":179393,"title":"How Americans View National, Local and Personal Energy Choices","slug":"how-americans-view-national-local-and-personal-energy-choices","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/how-americans-view-national-local-and-personal-energy-choices\/","is_active":false},{"id":179425,"title":"1. Views on energy development in the U.S.","slug":"views-on-energy-development-in-the-u-s","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/views-on-energy-development-in-the-u-s\/","is_active":false},{"id":179446,"title":"2. Americans\u2019 views on local wind and solar power development","slug":"americans-views-on-local-wind-and-solar-power-development","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/americans-views-on-local-wind-and-solar-power-development\/","is_active":false},{"id":179465,"title":"3. Americans\u2019 perceptions of solar power in their own lives","slug":"americans-perceptions-of-solar-power-in-their-own-lives","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/americans-perceptions-of-solar-power-in-their-own-lives\/","is_active":true},{"id":179473,"title":"Acknowledgments","slug":"energy-acknowledgments","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/energy-acknowledgments\/","is_active":false},{"id":179478,"title":"Methodology","slug":"energy-methodology","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/energy-methodology\/","is_active":false},{"id":179485,"title":"Appendix: Detailed charts and tables","slug":"energy-appendix","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/energy-appendix\/","is_active":false}],"report_materials":[{"key":"_4yfic19ot","type":"topline","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_TOPLINE.pdf","label":"Topline","icon":"","attachmentId":179501},{"key":"_u6k8ip2gd","type":"report","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PS_2024.6.27_energy_REPORT.pdf","label":"Report PDF","icon":"","attachmentId":179701},{"type":"dataset","id":2779,"label":"American Trends Panel Wave 148","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/dataset\/american-trends-panel-wave-148\/"}],"report_pagination":{"current_post":{"id":179465,"title":"3. 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Americans\u2019 views on local wind and solar power development","slug":"americans-views-on-local-wind-and-solar-power-development","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/americans-views-on-local-wind-and-solar-power-development\/","is_active":false,"page_num":3},"pagination_items":[{"id":179393,"title":"How Americans View National, Local and Personal Energy Choices","slug":"how-americans-view-national-local-and-personal-energy-choices","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/how-americans-view-national-local-and-personal-energy-choices\/","is_active":false,"page_num":1},{"id":179425,"title":"1. Views on energy development in the U.S.","slug":"views-on-energy-development-in-the-u-s","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/views-on-energy-development-in-the-u-s\/","is_active":false,"page_num":2},{"id":179446,"title":"2. Americans\u2019 views on local wind and solar power development","slug":"americans-views-on-local-wind-and-solar-power-development","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2024\/06\/27\/americans-views-on-local-wind-and-solar-power-development\/","is_active":false,"page_num":3},{"id":179465,"title":"3. 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