 A survey commissioned by the Energy & Resources industry group of Deloitte LLP finds a growing willingness among electricity consumers to pay higher costs to use fuels that are less damaging to the environment, including coal, if delivered as “clean coal.”
Key Findings
When asked about the public benefits of the use of alternative energy sources, the respondents overwhelmingly said that the environment (86 percent), U.S. energy security (80 percent) and new job creation (76 percent) would benefit from alternative energy use.
These consumers also would have no problem with alternative energy facilities built within “sight of home,” with 83 percent accepting wind farms and 86 percent accepting solar panels.
Consumers were split on nuclear energy. About 46 percent of those who pay electric bills would support the building of a new nuclear power station within 20 miles of their communities, whereas 48 percent would not.
Forty-four percent of the respondents cited environmental factors as the primary motivator when considering the purchase of alternative or renewable energy. Price was the second-most-mentioned motivator (30 percent), followed by energy reliability (15 percent) and jobs creation (8 percent). More than 70 percent of respondents said they were familiar with the terms “alternative” or “renewable” energy. Respondents were most familiar with solar (89 percent) and wind (73 percent), followed by ethanol (59 percent) and hydro (58 percent).
Survey Methodology Survey conducted April 2007 National, twice-weekly telephone omnibus Single stage random digit dialing Based on 1,016 respondents and weighted to the population Margin of error varies from +/- 3.3 percent to 3.8 percent
This survey was conducted by International Communications Research, Inc. for Deloitte LLP. To obtain detailed survey results, please contact us. |
