@misc{35144,
  author = {Galen L Barbose and Sydney Forrester and Eric O'Shaughnessy and Naïm R Darghouth},
  title = {Residential Solar-Adopter Income and Demographic Trends: 2022 Update},
  abstract = {<p>The report describes income, demographic, and other socio-economic trends among U.S. residential rooftop solar adopters. The report is based on data for roughly 2.3 million residential rooftop solar systems installed through 2020, representing 82% of all U.S. systems. With its unique size, geographic scope, and level of detail, this report is intended to serve as a foundational reference document for policy-makers, industry stakeholders, and researchers.</p><p>Key findings include the following:</p><ul><li>The median solar adopter income was about $115k/year in 2020, compared to a U.S. median of about $63k/year for all households and $79k/year for all owner-occupied households</li><li>The degree of income skew varies significantly across all states, but all states exhibit some positive income skew, with median solar-adopter incomes ranging from 130-175% of the respective county-median income for all households</li><li>Notwithstanding the fact that solar adopter incomes skew high, a substantial share of adopters could be considered low-to-moderate income (LMI), with 41% of all 2020 adopters earning less than 120% of their area’s median income.</li><li>Solar-adopter incomes are declining over time, with median incomes dropping from 138k in 2010 to $115k in 2020, as adoption becomes more proportionately distributed across the population.</li><li>Solar-adopter incomes are consistently higher for systems paired with battery storage, for host-owned systems, and for systems installed on single-family homes; higher income adopters also consistently install larger systems.</li><li>Compared to the broader population, solar adopters tend to: identify as Non-Hispanic White, be primarily English-speaking, live in rural areas, have higher education levels, be middle-aged, work in business and finance-related occupations, live in higher-value homes, and live in neighborhoods with higher average credit scores</li></ul><p>In conjunction with the report, Berkeley Lab has published an updated accompanying set of&nbsp;<a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/solar-demographics-tool" target="_blank">online data visualizations</a>&nbsp;that allow users to further explore the underlying data.&nbsp;Berkeley Lab is also offering related analytical support to states, local agencies, and other organizations on issues related to solar adoption among low-to-moderate income households; requests for analytical support may be submitted through this&nbsp;<a title="Form" href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOauinm2NRF-9J39aDh3447F9FDTOsP3tpMHJLzH_orKoTpw/viewform" target="_blank">online form</a>.</p>},
  year = {2022},
  month = {02/2022},
  note = {<p>A webinar discussing this research was recorded on March 17, 2022, and can be viewed <a title="webinar recording" href="https://emp.lbl.gov/webinar/residential-solar-adopter-income-and-0" target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a>.&nbsp;</p>},
  language = {eng},
}