A majority of voters in Scotland want the next Scottish Government to make renewable energy a priority for the country.
The people of Scotland are heading to the polls on the 5th of May, and a recent survey conducted by market research firm YouGov asked more than 1,000 voters whether the next Scottish government should prioritize the continued development of renewables, extending the life of fossil fuel plants, using shale gas, or building new nuclear power stations.
Overwhelmingly, the people of Scotland want to see renewables prioritized.
70% of respondents said they wanted to see more renewable electricity generating sources like wind, solar, wave, and tidal, while two-thirds of respondents agreed that the next Scottish government should “continue to take forward policies that tackle greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.”
“The poll suggests that the people of Scotland continue to be strongly behind the growth of renewable energy, with support for the sector way ahead of any other,” said Niall Stuart, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, which commissioned the survey. “Just months after the Paris climate change agreement, the poll also shows clear support for Scotland’s next government to prioritise policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Scotland has long been a leading renewable energy nation, repeatedly generating huge amounts of electricity from renewable energy sources — primarily from its booming wind industry. Just this January, Scotland’s wind power output supplied 1,125,544 MWh of electricity to the National Grid — enough, on average, to meet the electrical needs of 123% of Scottish households.
And in early January, WWF Scotland saw enough potential in the country’s existing renewable energy industry to call for the Scottish Government to commit to a new 2030 target — generate 50% from renewables by 2030.
“Without doubt, 2015 was a huge year for renewables, with wind turbines and solar panels helping to ensure millions of tonnes of climate-damaging carbon emissions were avoided,” said Lang Banks, WWF Scotland’s director. “With 2016 being a critical year politically, we’d like to see each of the political parties back policies that would enable Scotland become the EU’s first fully renewable electricity nation by 2030.”
The Scottish people, industry, and advocacy groups all want a renewable future for their country — as made perfectly clear by the results of the YouGov survey. only 19% of respondents said the country should prioritize shale gas fracking, while 42% expressly condemned the prioritization of new or extending the life of fossil fuel power stations.
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