Issues in
Energy and Environmental Policy Number 32 | September 2017
A Majority of Americans Support Net Energy Metering a report from the National Surveys on Energy and Environment
Net energy metering (NEM), the policy that allows utility customers with onsite electricity sources such as solar panels or small wind turbines to sell excess energy they generate back to the electric grid, has played a significant role in the increased adoption of small-scale renewable energy. This report presents data from the spring 2017 wave of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) to find that there is majority support for NEM across all demographic groups, though groups that tend to be more supportive of increasing the use of solar energy in their state—younger Americans and those who identify as politically liberal—are more strongly supportive of NEM policies than political moderates, conservatives, and Americans over the age of 50.
Key Findings •
A majority of Americans (76%) support net energy metering (NEM), a policy that allows small-scale producers of renewable energy (e.g., through rooftop solar panels) to sell excess power back to their electric utility.
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Support for NEM is highest among self-identified liberals and younger Americans (aged 18-49), two groups that also are more supportive of increasing the use of solar energy in their state.
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Even so, a majority of political moderates, conservatives, and Americans 50 and over also say they support NEM.
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While 80% of respondents who do believe there is solid evidence of climate change say they support NEM, even a majority (64%) of respondents who don’t think there is solid evidence of climate change say they support NEM.
Authors Nicholas Simon
Policy Analyst Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Unviersity of Michigan nasimon@umich.edu
Sarah B. Mills
Postdoctoral Fellow Center for Local State, and Urban Policy Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy University of Michigan sbmills@umich.edu