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Public support for onshore wind has hit an all-time high, prompting a scathing attack on the Conservative party’s anti-wind agenda from Renewable UK.
Some 70 per cent of people support onshore wind and 12 per cent oppose it, according to Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) survey results published on Tuesday. Backing for the technology has ranged from 64 per cent to 68 per cent in the two years Decc has carried out its quarterly Public Attitudes Tracker.
These latest figures come a week after energy minister Michael Fallon promised a crackdown on onshore windfarms should the Conservatives win the 2015 general election. In what has been interpreted as an appeal to rural voters tempted by UKIP, Fallon said there would be no subsidies for further onshore wind development.
In an uncharacteristically political statement, Renewable UK accused the Conservatives of being “out of touch”.
Maria McCaffery, chief executive of Renewable UK, said: “This poll should serve as a clear wake-up call for the Conservatives. When they announced a moratorium on all future onshore wind projects last week, they seriously miscalculated the public’s mood, and they’ll pay heavily for that at the ballot box.
“People want to see the UK developing its abundant renewable energy resources – including onshore and offshore wind. It seems that the only people the Tories are actually in touch with are Nigel Farage and his cabal of fossil fuel advocates.
“The people have spoken – support for onshore wind is at a record high of 70% and energy security is more important to them than taxation, law and order, education and defence. The Conservatives should start to listen to the voice of the people rather than remaining in thrall to UKIP’s spin doctors, and realise that if we’re going to have secure, home-grown clean energy, onshore wind has an important part to play in that”.
The survey also found four out of five respondents back the use of renewable energy, with 59 per cent saying they would be happy to host a large scale renewable energy development in their area.
Support for nuclear was up slightly to 42 per cent, while shale gas fracking divided opinion with 29 per cent for and 22 per cent against.
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