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The Scottish government should prioritise the development of renewable energy above extending the life of fossil fuel plants or building nuclear power plants, a new poll has revealed.
A YouGov survey on behalf of Scottish Renewables of more than 1,000 people in Scotland has shown that 70 per cent of respondents want wind, solar, wave and tidal energy to be prioritised above other forms of energy.
Two-thirds also agreed that the next government should continue pushing policies that tackle greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Less than half of respondents (42 per cent) said the building of new, or extending the life of fossil fuel power stations should be prioritised, while a third support the building of new nuclear plants as a priority.
Only 19 per cent want fracking for shale gas prioritised.
Scottish Renewables chief executive Niall Stuart said the poll shows “support for the [renewables] sector is way ahead of any other”.
Only 4 per cent of the respondents said they currently have small-scale renewables at home, but almost 40 per cent would install a solar PV panel.
Of the other small scale renewables respondents could install solar thermal panels were the most popular at 36 per cent, 21 per cent would choose wind turbines, 20 per cent biomass boilers, 20 per cent heat pumps, and 13 per cent small-scale hydro turbines.
Stuart said: “We will be continuing our work on the Feed-in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive to ensure that smaller scale renewables remain a viable investment for homeowners across Scotland.”
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