Seventy percent of U.S. adults age 25 and older would support a nationwide mandate requiring that solar panels be installed on all newly built homes, according to a survey by CITE Research for Vivint Solar. The survey also showed that environmental experts are the most influential when persuading people to switch to solar and politicians are the least influential.
Support for a solar mandate is highest among younger adults in the 25–34 age range, with 74% in favor. Regionally, support was stronger in the West (72%), followed by the Northeast, South, and Midwest.
“With nearly a million new single-family homes built annually, if all of them took advantage of solar energy, it would be equivalent to driving 12 billion fewer miles a year or consuming 12 million fewer barrels of oil,” said David Bywater, CEO of Vivint Solar.