roof of concept

Who installs more solar power? Republicans and Democrats are pretty much tied.

Clean energy might be a partisan issue in D.C., but rooftops in the rest of the country suggest otherwise, according to a new study that compared home solar rates for donors to both Republican and Democratic political causes.

The results? Surprisingly close! In fact, in solar-heavy Hawaii, Republican donors actually have higher rates of installed home solar than Democratic ones.

In the top 20 solar states altogether, Democrats come in with a slight home solar advantage: 3.06 percent of donors as opposed to 2.24 percent of Republican donors. But in states like California, where the solar market is well-established, the solar rates were nearly equal among donors of both parties.

PowerScout — a San Francisco company that markets solar to homeowners — conducted the study using a database of addresses from 1.5 million campaign contributors, cross-referenced with satellite images analyzed to distinguish between buildings with and without solar panels.

In related news, a 2016 Pew poll showed 89 percent of Americans support expanding solar power. It’s one thing almost all of us can agree on.