A clear majority of the British public want more wind farms to be built, an independent opinion poll published by YouGov has revealed.
The survey, commissioned by The Sunday Times, showed that wind energy has greater public support than nuclear power and fossil fuels.
Key findings of the poll include: 69 per cent of the British public want current level of wind energy increased or maintained; 17 per cent of people support more gas and coal power stations; 55 per cent of those questioned say the number of UK wind farms should be higher than it is at present; and 14 per cent say it should be maintained at current levels.
The survey also found that 11 per cent support more oil and less than a third of those questioned (32 per cent) supported “fracking” – the process of fracturing rocks to extract shale gas.
RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Maf Smith said: “This is an unequivocal vote of confidence in renewable energy. A clear majority of British people support building more wind farms to meet our country’s clean energy needs. That support is consistently strong, in this and other independent polls.
“One stark message from this survey is the public’s evident disenchantment with fossil fuels, including the unpopularity of fracking for shale gas.
“The poll also shows that investing in clean energy to safeguard our environment for the future has a significantly higher level of public support than paying more and more for non-renewables like gas and oil.”
The YouGov survey asked 1,734 people their views and was conducted online on October 18 and 19, 2012.
It adds further weight to the role of wind and other renewables in the UK's energy mix following a survey by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) last month which revealed that 77 per cent of the public want electricity from renewable sources, with 73 per cent supporting offshore wind and 66 per cent onshore.
