Insight

Wind farms not as contentious as you thought

Wind farms not as contentious as you thought

Broadly speaking, most forms of extracting resources and generating electricity are accepted by UK adults as part of British energy policy. Only coal power stations (35% in favour to 30% opposed) and fracking (32% in favour to 33% opposed) showed serious division amongst the public regarding whether or not they should exist in the UK. The public were broadly in favour of gas power stations (42%) and nuclear power stations (44%) in the UK.

More interestingly, a large majority of UK adults (68%) were in favour of wind farms having a place in UK energy policy. A staggering 37% were strongly in favour of wind farms, more than twice as much as any other form of energy. Perhaps less surprisingly, considering the heated debate that wind energy often provokes, far fewer people found themselves on the fence than for any other way of generating electricity.

Despite the complaints that they are a blot on the landscape, wind turbines also weathered the not-in-my-backyard test with ease. Unlike other forms of power generation, most continued to support wind farms and it is the only type of energy most would support having near their homes. This is perhaps partially due to their reputation as being green and eco-friendly ? unlike gas and coal power stations ? while also less associated with health and safety concerns ? such as fracking or nuclear power.

Wind farms also have incredibly broad support from both sides of the political spectrum. Voters from all three major parties support wind farms, even when in their local area. Despite what some might have thought wind energy was still the most popular form of electricity generation amongst UKIP voters. Although those on the right did show slightly less enthusiasm than Labour or Lib Dem voters (79% support), UKIP voters were far less likely to change their mind when asked if they still supported wind farms in their local area as opposed to the UK as a whole.