Poll Shows Public Support for Renewables

A survey by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has shown that most people in the UK are in favour of continuing to grow our renewable energy generation capacity. However, little is known about some of the key clean energy technologies.

In one of the biggest energy polls ever carried out, DECC found that 82% of 2,121 people surveyed support government plans for ‘a mix of energy sources to ensure a reliable supply of electricity in the UK’, with just 5% opposing these. And 55% said they would be happy to see a major renewables development in their local area – an encouraging result for the industry.

Almost 80% of respondents were in favour of using renewable energy technologies to produce fuel and heat as well as electricity, whilst 69% thought the renewable energy industry holds economic benefits for the UK.

The best-known technologies all found favour, with 83% supporting solar power, 76% offshore wind, 75% marine power and 66% onshore wind. However, most respondents had never heard of carbon capture storage (CCS) and around 50% were unaware of air or ground source heat pumps, biomass or micro combined heat and power (CHP).

With CCS in particular likely to form a major part of the government’s low carbon energy plans, it looks like there is plenty of work to do to raise awareness of these technologies. There are plans to repeat the survey every three months to enable DECC to keep abreast of public opinions and understanding around renewable energy sources and related issues.

Wilding says: It’s good to see so much public support for renewable energy technologies, which will form a vital part of the future generation mix. However, it’s clear the government must do more to promote public awareness of the lesser-known technologies, which will play an important part in helping us reach our renewable energy and climate change targets.

Source: Business Green