Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 4:15:31 PM - by Nate Lew

A new survey finds that solar energy continues to draw strong support from a vast majority of the American public.

According to the 2009 Schott Solar Barometer, 92 percent of Americans say it's important to develop solar energy resources. The poll found almost equally strong support among all political orientations, with 89 percent of Republicans, 94 percent of Democrats and 93 percent of independents supporting solar energy development.

"Americans overwhelmingly want clean, reliable solar energy for their homes and businesses. It's now time for Congress to listen to the American public and prioritize the use of solar in upcoming energy legislation," said Rhone Resch of the Solar Energy Industries Association, going on to cite the job creation and environmental benefits of solar.

Elsewhere in the survey, 77 percent were reported as saying that the government should make development of solar resources a top priority, including providing sufficient financial support for this to happen.

Solar energy was also found to receive the strongest support from Americans of all the renewable forms of power, with 43 percent saying they would provide it with the most financial support if they were president, compared to 17 percent for wind and 12 percent for natural gas.