Voters in 3 Swing States Love Solar — But Does It Matter? – CleanTechnica

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The US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) put out an interesting story today, including the graphic above (and below). It’s a fun topic with uplifting findings, and we’ve reported on similar surveys for about 15 years. This is always the case: most people support solar energy, and support government support for solar energy.

We’ve used this fact multiple times to argue that voters should vote for politicians who will support solar. (And we all know who that is on the federal level.) Given the importance of the climate crisis, energy security, energy prices, and the costs of pollution, I do think a lot more people should vote based on this matter. However, the fact is, few people do.

People vote based on a handful of broader concerns, even when those concerns are manufactured from the outside and basically a trick of politicians and political actors in the media — many of whom are indeed fooled themselves. People get scared into thinking they need to vote based on some obscure or distant issue — even though voting based on that is not going to do anything for their lives.

Anyway, let’s get back to the news.

“The 2024 presidential election is going to be close.

“Polls indicate a tightening race in the campaign’s final weeks, and the outcome may hinge on a few thousand votes across the swing states.

“Given this dynamic, America’s solar and energy storage industry could have an outsized impact on deciding the next president of the United States.”

It’s a fair point. The election should be so close that votes based on solar power could even have an impact. Maybe. I’m still skeptical — except that there are many people who work in the solar industry and might have the sense to vote based on that. However, even there, I think most people are voting based on other issues. But who knows?

“The buildout of the solar and storage industry — specifically the growth of domestic solar manufacturing — is concentrated in swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina. In fact, one study from the Energy Innovation found that swing states will host 48% of newly announced clean energy manufacturing projects.

“These projects, the billions invested, and the tens of thousands of jobs created will certainly affect voters’ attitudes. And, as issues like inflation and domestic manufacturing rise to the top of voters’ priority lists, the case for incentivizing solar and storage is a potent political argument.”

Well, one can hope. Also, kudos to SEIA for trying to put a little of its weight into influencing the election. The organization could be more direct and make a bit more impact if it wanted to try, but I understand tiptoeing and playing this more cautiously in case the orange mafia-loving con man gets into office again.

You can read more of the stats, details and SEIA commentary on solar in three key states — Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania — if you want to dig in more.