Public Opinion Watch: Marylanders back offshore wind
As AWEA's Offshore WINDPOWER 2011 Conference & Exhibition is underway in Baltimore, the results of two new public opinion polls have been released. Both find strong majorities of Maryland residents favoring offshore wind development in the state.
In the first poll, those surveyed were asked if they would be willing to pay a slightly higher electric bill if their power were generated by “clean, local offshore wind farms, instead of coming from coal, oil and gas.” Sixty-two percent said they would, with 39 percent “strongly agreeing.” Thirty-four percent said they would not, with 24 percent “strongly disagreeing.”
The telephone survey was conducted between Sept. 19 and 27 by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies for the National Wildlife Federation and the Offshore Wind Coalition.
The second survey, carried out by Frederick Poll for the Atlantic Wind Connection, found even stronger backing for offshore wind, with 77 percent of respondents favoring it, including majorities of all political party affiliations. Seventy-four percent of those polled also favor building transmission lines for offshore wind.
More reading:
Public Opinion Watch: Vermonters choose wind power, August 17, 2011
Two-thirds of consumers would pay more for products made with wind energy, global survey finds, July 6, 2011
Public Opinion Watch: Iowa voters overwhelmingly back wind energy, July 1, 2011
Public Opinion Watch: Wisconsin says “Yes!” to wind power, April 25, 2011