U.S. Shows Some Love for Solar

photo: Kevin Houle via flickr.

Hey, this green thing’s catching on! Not that anyone reading this likely needed convincing that solar power’s a good thing, but a new survey shows that a lot of other people now think similarly. According to the SCHOTT Solar Barometer report a whopping 98% of Independents, 97% of Democrats and 91% of Republicans think that developing solar power is in the vital interests of the United States. On the flip side of this, only 3% of people surveyed thought that favoring coal was a good direction for the country to head. Additionally, a near-equal amount of Democrats (72%), Republicans (72%) and Independents (74%) thought that extending federal tax credits were a good way to encourage further development of solar. Granted this is a survey conducted by two groups with an overt economic stake in the results, but the figures are certainly compelling.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association the US has a potential capacity of 7,000 GW in the Southwest alone. In 2007 US solar installations grew at a rate of 45%, making the US the fourth largest market in the world behind Germany, Japan and Spain.

You can take a look at the questions asked in the survey and summaries of the responses on the SEIA website.

via :: Renewable Energy World

Three more on US Solar Power:
California May Tinker With Solar Subsidies
Turning Big Box Stores into Solar Power Plants in California
If Green Tax Credits Go, Say Goodbye to 116,000 U.S. Jobs