U.S. poll: Majority say solar won't make major contribution for up to 20 years
Even though 31 percent of Americans believe solar energy will make a major contribution to meeting the nation's energy needs within the next two to five years, a full 57 percent don't see this as reality for at least another 15 to 20 years. That is according to a Harris Interactive Poll of 2,205 U.S. adults surveyed online recently.
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Credit: Rasica |
Under the 15 to 20 year scenario, 35 percent believe solar will make just a minor contribution and a mere 8 percent see solar making any impactful contribution. Conversely, under the two to five year scenario, 31 percent of respondents say solar will make a major contribution, 53 percent say it will make a minor contribution and 16 percent expect it will make hardly any contribution at all.
What's particularly interesting is that even though a large majority of Americans don't see solar making an impact for two decades, an even larger number believe that we have the technical potential to capitalize on solar's benefits. In fact, 63 percent say the country has the "technical know-how" to utilize solar energy in large part for the nation's energy mix, while just 20 percent believe we do not have that capacity. The remaining 17 percent are unsure.
Looking back six years to a Harris Poll that asked adults the same questions about solar, confidence levels in solar's promise at that time were very similar. For example, 27 percent reported that solar would make a major contribution in two to five years while 60 percent said a major contribution would happen in next 15 to 20 years.
The previous poll results also revealed that confidence in the nation's technical prowess in incorporating solar as part of the country's energy mix has increased only marginally, up just 4 percent from 59 percent in 2008.
Ultimately, Americans are distrustful of the information they are getting about solar energy and this, clearly, affects these poll results. For example, small numbers of those surveyed feel the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) represents the promise of solar accurately (19 percent); the same sentiments are expressed for the White House (14 percent), Republicans in Congress (12 percent), national news media (11 percent), and Democrats in Congress (10 percent).
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