Environmental Polling Roundup – February 13, 2026
Headlines
POLITICO – Americans feel more positively than negatively about data center expansion, but haven’t formed strong attitudes about it; Democrats have a double-digit advantage over Republicans in dealing with energy costs [Data Centers Article, Energy Costs Article]
First Solar – Republican-leaning voters continue to support solar power [Release, Memo]
Key Takeaways
Americans are on the fence about data centers, leaving a lot of room for advocates to shape public perceptions. POLITICO finds that Americans lean in favor of data center expansion nationally, though support for the idea is soft (with very few “strongly” supporting plans to expand data centers) and many Americans have no opinion on the topic. At the local level, meanwhile, Americans are much more mixed on the idea of data centers being built in their area than other types of development (such as housing or other local infrastructure).
POLITICO’s findings are generally consistent with previous polling by Navigator in December, which found that voters aren’t following news about data centers closely at all and accordingly haven’t formed strong attitudes about them.
This leaves a clear window for advocates to educate the public about the topic and make a case for strong regulations that protect consumers and the environment. In both POLITICO and Navigator’s research, higher household energy bills stood out as the most concerning potential consequence of the data center buildout. POLITICO additionally found that Americans are now far more likely to choose Republicans than Democrats as the party that’s closer to Big Tech, leaving Republican officials especially vulnerable to pressure to hold tech companies more accountable.
Republican voters continue to back solar power, and want more of an “all-of-the-above” approach that doesn’t restrict clean energy. Calls for an “all-of-the-above” energy approach have long been a thorn in the side of environmental advocates, as pro-fossil fuel interests effectively wielded these types of arguments to slow the transition to cleaner energy sources.
Now, however, public support for an “all-of-the-above” energy approach has become a vulnerability for the same fossil fuel-aligned politicians that spent years fostering it. As the Trump administration has moved aggressively to kneecap the domestic solar and wind industries, voters across the political aisle are objecting to the idea that we should be restricting our energy choices–especially when so many Americans are struggling to pay their bills.
A new poll commissioned by solar manufacturer First Solar and conducted by Trump’s own campaign pollster finds that Republican-leaning voters support the use of utility solar by a wide margin and overwhelmingly agree that “we need all forms of electricity generation, including utility solar, to be built to lower electricity costs.” Meanwhile, POLITICO finds that Democrats have opened up a double-digit advantage over Republicans as the party that’s more trusted to protect households from rising energy costs.
Good Data Points to Highlight
[Republicans + Solar] Republican and Republican-leaning voters (including self-identified Republicans, Trump voters, and Republican-leaning independents) support the use of utility solar energy by a 51%-30% margin [First Solar]
[Republicans + Solar] Republican and Republican-leaning voters (including self-identified Republicans, Trump voters, and Republican-leaning independents) support the use of utility solar energy by a 70%-19% margin if it uses solar panels manufactured in the U.S. without ties to China [First Solar]
[Republicans + Solar] 68% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters (including self-identified Republicans, Trump voters, and Republican-leaning independents) agree that “we need all forms of electricity generation, including utility solar, to be built to lower electricity costs” [First Solar]
[Environmental Spending] 52% of Americans say that the federal government should increase what it spends on the environment, while just 20% want to decrease spending on it [The Economist + YouGov]
Full Roundup
POLITICO – Americans feel more positively than negatively about data center expansion, but haven’t formed strong attitudes about it; Democrats have a double-digit advantage over Republicans in dealing with energy costs [Data Centers Article, Energy Costs Article]
Americans haven’t made up their minds about data center expansion. Surveying adults nationwide, POLITICO finds that half of Americans (50%) would support a plan to build more data centers in the U.S. Only 18% would oppose such a plan, while one-quarter (26%) are neutral on it.
Support for data centers is also soft, with only around one in six Americans (16%) saying that they would “strongly” support a plan to expand them.
Previous polling by Navigator similarly found that the public is very malleable on the issue, and generally found less support for data centers than POLITICO’s poll. In a December survey of registered voters nationwide, Navigator found that voters had mixed attitudes about whether building more data centers would be good (23%) or bad (18%) for the country. Meanwhile, around one-third (34%) said that data center expansion would bring an equal mix of good and bad impacts and one-quarter (25%) said that they weren’t sure.
Americans aren’t enthused about the idea of data centers in their own areas. POLITICO finds that Americans are nine points more likely to say that they would support (37%) than oppose (28%) the construction of a data center within three miles of their home.
However, POLITICO asked about several other types of development for comparison and found that Americans generally feel less positively about data centers than about other types of local infrastructure. Below are the percentages who would support and oppose various projects being built within three miles of where they live:
- New housing – 67% support / 12% oppose
- New low-income housing projects – 57% support / 21% oppose
- A new road or highway – 52% support / 17% oppose
- A new warehouse for preparing deliveries – 50% support / 17% oppose
- A new university – 49% support / 19% oppose
- A new shopping mall – 49% support / 22% oppose
- A new train station – 44% support / 24% oppose
- A new sports arena – 38% support / 33% oppose
- A new data center – 37% support / 28% oppose
- A new power plant or other electric infrastructure – 35% support / 31% oppose
- A new airport – 30% support / 39% oppose
Republicans are more supportive of data centers than Democrats. Trump voters in POLITICO’s poll (61% support / 13% oppose) are 12 points more likely than Harris voters (49% support / 21% oppose) to support the idea of data center expansion nationally.
At the local level, Trump voters (45% support / 26% oppose) are nine points more likely to say that they would support a data center in their area than Harris voters (36% support / 33% oppose).
Navigator’s December poll similarly found that Republicans tend to have more positive attitudes about data centers than Democrats.
Higher energy prices are the public’s clearest hesitation about data centers. When asked to choose the most significant drawbacks of data center expansion from a list, Americans are more likely to choose higher electricity costs than any other negative impact:
- It will mean higher electricity costs for households – 29%
- It increases the risk of electricity blackouts for households – 24%
- It will cost the taxpayer money – 23%
- It will remove jobs as AI improves – 21%
- It damages the environment – 20%
- It increases the risk of water shortages for households – 20%
- It means more political power for US technology companies – 17%
- It causes disruption as it is built – 14%
Higher electricity costs ranked as the top concern for both Trump voters and Harris voters.
Democrats have opened up a trust advantage over Republicans on energy prices. Americans are 12 points more likely to choose Democrats (37%) than Republicans (25%) as the party that “wants to protect households from rising energy costs.”
Only around half of Trump voters (52%) say that the Republican Party cares more about rising household energy prices, while the large majority of Harris voters (72%) say that the Democratic Party cares more.
Americans now see Republicans as the party of Big Tech. Americans are more than twice as likely to choose the Republican Party (42%) than the Democratic Party (17%) as the party that is “closest with big technology companies.” Both Trump voters (50% Republican Party / 12% Democratic Party) and Harris voters (44% Republican Party / 25% Democratic Party) see Republicans as more aligned with Big Tech, indicating that Republican politicians will have a hard time convincing voters that they will hold technology companies accountable for driving up utility costs or for any other negative consequences from the AI boom.
First Solar – Republican-leaning voters continue to support solar power [Release, Memo]
Republican-leaning voters still support solar power, especially if it utilizes U.S. manufacturing. This poll, which was commissioned by solar manufacturer First Solar and fielded by Trump campaign pollster Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, surveyed Republican and Republican-leaning voters nationwide (including self-identified Republicans, Trump voters, and Republican-leaning independents).
The survey finds that this audience is 20 points more likely to support than oppose the use of utility solar energy (51% support / 30% oppose). Republican-leaning voters’ support for utility solar rises to 70% (with just 19% opposed) “if it uses panels manufactured in American factories, with American materials, with no ties to China.”
These findings are consistent with non-partisan public polling. Pew, for example, found last year that 61% of Republican or Republican-leaning Americans said that the U.S. should utilize more solar power.
Republican-leaning voters favor an “all-of-the-above” energy approach that includes clean energy. While polls show that Republicans increasingly say that the U.S. should prioritize fossil fuels over clean energy sources, the polling is also clear that Republicans would prefer to have both.
This is evident in Republicans’ support for solar power and in their consistent support for an “all-of-the-above” approach. Here, First Solar’s poll finds that 68% of Republican-leaning voters agree with the statement that “we need all forms of electricity generation, including utility solar, to be built to lower electricity costs.”
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