A Majority of Americans Support Net Energy Metering

August 2017

Net energy metering (NEM), the policy that allows utility customers with onsite electricity sources such as solar panels or small wind turbines to sell excess energy they generate back to the electric grid, has played a significant role in the increased adoption of small-scale renewable energy. This report presents data from the spring 2017 wave of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) to find that there is majority support for NEM across all demographic groups, though groups that tend to be more supportive of increasing the use of solar energy in their state—younger Americans and those who identify as politically liberal—are more strongly supportive of NEM policies than political moderates, conservatives, and Americans over the age of 50.