A Majority of Americans Support Net Energy Metering

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. 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. Even so, a majority of political moderates, conservatives, and Americans 50 and over also say they support NEM. 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.