71 pct Scots Support Wind Power

A new poll commissioned by Scottish Renewables has revealed 71 percent of people in Scotland support wind power as part of their energy mix.

The results come ahead of Donald Trump’s appearance at the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee inquiry into renewable energy targets on Wednesday (25 April).

The YouGov poll which surveyed 1041 people in Scotland found 38.81 per cent strongly agreed with the statement ‘I support the continuing development of wind power as part of a mix of renewables and conventional forms of electricity generation’ and a futher 32.52 per cent said they tended to agree.

This was compares to just 7 per cent who strongly disagreed with the statement.

Young people were among the most favourable with half of 18 to 24 year-olds strongly supporting wind power and a third tending to support the continued development of this renewable energy source.

The results are a snapshot of a wider survey intended to find out what Scots really think about wind power, the renewable energy target, and Donald Trump’s recent high profile intervention into the renewable energy debate. The full results will be made available later this week.

Niall Stuart, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said:

“This lays to rest once and for all the idea that people of Scotland do not support wind power.

“A massive majority of people have clearly stated their support for the continuing development of wind power – offshore and onshore – as part of our energy mix. The facts speak for themselves and we hope the committee will listen to the majority of Scots who have made their opinions very clear on the matter.

“We believe the public understand the benefits of both wind power and renewable energy; that it can help reduce future energy bills, increase our energy security, is a valuable tool in tackling climate change and that this industry is one of very few actively bringing massive investment and creating jobs and opportunities for individuals and businesses across the country.

“We hope that the public, our politicians and press take heed of these results and continue to encourage a mature and well-informed debate about how Scotland meets its future energy needs using an increasing amount of clean renewable energy sources.”

[mappress]

Offshore WIND staff, April 24, 2012; Image: alpha ventus