Households with solar installations are ideologically diverse and more politically active than their neighbours

Matto Mildenberger (), Peter D. Howe and Chris Miljanich
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Matto Mildenberger: University of California
Peter D. Howe: Utah State University
Chris Miljanich: University of California

Nature Energy, 2019, vol. 4, issue 12, 1033-1039

Abstract: Abstract Climate risk mitigation requires rapid decarbonization of energy infrastructure, a task that will need political support from mass publics. Here, we use a combination of satellite imagery and voter file data to examine the political identities of US households with residential solar installations. We find that solar households are slightly more likely to be Democratic; however, this imbalance stems primarily from between-neighbourhood differences in partisan composition rather than within-neighbourhood differences in the rate of partisan solar uptake. Crucially, we still find that many solar households are Republican. We also find that solar households are substantially more likely to be politically active than their neighbours, and that these differences in political participation cannot be fully explained by demographic and socioeconomic factors. Our results demonstrate that individuals across the ideological spectrum are participating in the US energy transition, despite extreme ideological polarization around climate change.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41560-019-0498-8

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