Majority of Brits would welcome onshore wind over nuclear in their community, according to a new YouGov poll for UK100
*** FREE FOR EDITORIAL USE *** Samsung launch Solve for Tomorrow, an alternative education platform. The image shows that in 2019, 29% of students (blue desks) were worried about passing exams. After the pandemic, 47% of students are not confident that theyll do well in their exams, with 40 % now rethinking their future plans. Solve for Tomorrow has been created to provide unorthodox learning experiences to young people looking to explore how technology can help tackle some of societys biggest issues.
People across the UK would welcome onshore wind in their community over nuclear, according to a new YouGov poll.
The poll, commissioned by UK100, comes just days after the Government published its new Energy Security Strategy.
The strategy saw a pivot towards nuclear power and limited ambition on onshore wind.
When asked (between 11 and 12 April) whether they would prefer onshore wind or nuclear power in their community, more than three in five people (61%) said they would welcome onshore wind. Only one in five (23%) preferred nuclear power.
Every demographic and region prefers onshore wind to nuclear by a significant margin.
UK100 is the only network of local leaders across the UK committed to ambitious action on Net Zero and clean air.
Responding to the findings, Polly Billington, Chief Executive of UK100, says:
“The British people know that onshore wind is the quickest, cheapest and cleanest way to boost our energy security and reduce our reliance on Russian gas. It is also an industry that will bring almost 30,000 high-quality jobs to the UK by 2030. The results of this poll aren’t surprising.”
“We work closely with local leaders across the UK who are ready to harness local support for onshore wind. But they need clear direction from the government on unblocking an effective ban on onshore wind that has seen a 97% decline in projects being granted planning permission between 2016 and 2021 compared to 2009 – 2014.”
“While not surprising, the results are significant. It has been reported that Kwasi Kwarteng and Boris Johnson had originally planned to support a massive UK onshore wind revival. But after apparent inter-cabinet wrangling, the final Energy Security Strategy rowed back on those ambitions. This polling proves Boris and Kwasi should have stuck to their guns — the public is lukewarm on nuclear power in their community but is ready to welcome onshore wind farms across the country. And local authorities are poised and eager to deliver it.”
Caroline Jackson, leader of UK100 member Lancaster City Council, adds:
“We welcome the findings of the UK100 survey. Government needs to react at speed to the immediate need for our own affordable energy generation. People and businesses are suffering while government puts its faith in the slow and unpopular nuclear option.”
“The positive findings by UK100 have come as a pleasant surprise. If government signals a change of attitude, we look forward to testing out the potential for onshore wind in Lancaster district alongside other safe, low carbon generation. Our overriding aim must be to reach our target of being carbon net zero by 2030.”
Ian Nellins, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Natural Assets and the Green Economy at UK100 member Shropshire Council, says:
“The catastrophic effects of climate change are being felt globally and we have a responsibility to invest in clean, modern and resilient power generation systems, but we must also pay attention to where these sites are installed so as not to cause further damage to our environment.”
“This in turn will promote growth and sustainable economies and stability in the pricing markets.”
