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Public Attitudes to Windfarms: A Survey of Local Residents in Scotland
Chapter SIX attitudes to future energy generation
6.1 One might expect that the views of people living within 20km of Scotland's windfarm sites regarding future energy generation would be affected by their own experiences. While support or opposition to the expansion of the use of wind energy could not be taken to reflect their attitude to the future of their local windfarm, their views will at least be informed by their experiences.
6.2 The overwhelming majority of people living within 20 kilometres of a windfarm support an increase in the proportion of electricity generated in Scotland through the use of wind power over the coming 15 years (82%), while just two per cent feel that there should be a reduction (see chart 6).
Chart 6: Public support for electricity generation options
6.3 Those who feel that the overall impact of their local windfarm has been negative tend to support increased wind energy generation (71%), and just one in ten of this group (10%) thinks that the proportion should be reduced.
6.4 While people are generally able to express their own view as to whether different methods of generating electricity should increase or reduce, many are less sure of what the Scottish Executive policy is
9.
Table 8: Perceptions of the Scottish Executive's electricity generation policy
Q As far as you know, is it the Scottish Executive's policy that the proportion of electricity generated in Scotland using each of these methods should increase, reduce, or stay about the same over the next 15 years? |
Row percentages | Increase | Stay the same | Reduce | Don't know |
Coal fired power | 6% | 16% | 46% | 32% |
Oil fired power | 10% | 18% | 35% | 37% |
Nuclear power | 10% | 12% | 44% | 34% |
Wind energy | 66% | 5% | 1% | 28% |
Wave energy | 52% | 9% | 2% | 37% |
Base = 1,810 |
6.5 The two methods of generation that majorities believe are proposed to increase are wind and (more narrowly) wave energy (see table 8). Public attitudes are therefore broadly in line with the Scottish Executive's policy (see footnote).
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