WIND FARM OPINION POLL. Conducted 11th 13th May 2015

Transcription

1 WIND FARM OPINION POLL Conducted 11th 13th May 2015 Abstract An insight into opinions regarding renewable energy and the environment in the Bournemouth area, and the feasibility of the Navitus Bay Wind Farm development. Forefront Market Research

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 2 Methodology... 3 Research Objectives... 4 Questions to be answered by the research:... 4 Research Findings... 6 Attitudes towards Renewable Energy, Recycling and Climate Change... 6 The Navitus Bay Wind Farm Project... 8 Conclusion... 13

3 Introduction Forefront Market Research conducted an opinion poll over a three day period, from the 11 th to the 13 th of May 2015, looking at attitudes regarding renewable energy sources in the UK, and opinions concerning the Navitus Bay Wind Farm proposals. The research was conducted through telephone interviews, and the sample was composed of adults (18+) living in the Bournemouth area (BN postcode). A sample size of 600 people was used in the results. Data was weighted to the profiles of all adults by sex, age, ethnicity, work status, and household tenure using information derived from the 2011 National Census. The focus of this research was to gain a full understanding of people s views on energy generation/consumption in the UK, opinions regarding the environment and importance of renewable sources, and how people s attitudes alter when directly affected by the building of wind farms in their local area. The area of Bournemouth became the focus of this study as a direct result of the Navitus Bay Wind Farm which is still in planning stages. The proposed project is a joint venture between Eneco Wind UK Ltd and Edf Energy Renewables, and will contain 121 to 194 wind turbines, visibly located 13.3 miles off the Bournemouth Coast. The Navitus Bay Wind Farm was an important consideration when selecting an area to research as it would be possible to verify attitudes regarding a project that will directly affect those being questioned and ascertain whether their opinions on this subject correspond with, or clash with, viewpoints on renewable energy in general. Once this information was determined, the focus of the survey would then turn to looking at how viable the Navitus Bay Wind Farm project is for the area, and how much support exists amongst Bournemouth residents. The research project looks at various avenues that could be adopted to increase support for the Navitus Bay Wind Farm, specifically targeting those who stated in the interviews they did not support the development. The research tests hypothetical proposals that could be used to increase support and aims to gauge respondents reactions.

4 Methodology This report is based on a quantitative study using telephone interviews. The interviews were conducted from the 11 th to 13 th May A sample of 600 adults was used and the data was weighted to data from the 2011 National Census. A combination of landline numbers and mobile numbers were used to conduct the research. For the landline numbers, Random Digit Dialling 1 was used. 450 surveys were conducted with landline numbers using this methodology. Interviews were also conducted from a sample of mobile telephone numbers, registered to people in the age bracket living in the Bournemouth area, obtained from a DMA registered data supplier 2. Only individuals who had opted in to be contacted for marketing purposes were used. 150 surveys were conducted from these numbers. All respondents postcodes were recorded to ensure they resided within the target area. Phone calls were conducted throughout the day, from 10am until 8pm, to ensure a wide range of different demographics and ages were collected and included in the results. 1 Within the Bournemouth area a random sample of numbers were drawn from the BT database of domestic telephone numbers. Each number selected then had its last digit randomised so as to create a sample which included listed and non-listed phone numbers. 2 Data supplier Data-8 Ltd.

5 Research Objectives 1. Determine Bournemouth resident s views on renewable energy sources and the environment. 2. Gauge support for the Navitus Bay Wind Farm amongst Bournemouth residents. 3. Assess the viability of Navitus Bay and different ways the developers can increase support for the project. In order to meet these objectives, respondents were asked their opinion on a number of issues ranging from; how important it is to create renewable energy sources in the UK, the impact of household recycling on the environment, and what they believed to be the main causes of climate change. Respondents were then asked questions specifically relating to the proposed Navitus Bay Wind Farm including; their awareness of the project, whether they supported such a project going ahead and how they could be incentivised to support the project. Questions to be answered by the research: Part A 1. On a scale of 0 to 10, 10 being very important and 0 being not important at all, do you think that creating more renewable energy sources in the UK is important? 2. Thinking about your own household recycling, how much of a difference do you think it makes to your local environment on a scale of 0 to 10; with 10 meaning it makes a big difference and 0 meaning it makes no difference at all. 3. Do you believe that global warming is caused by the release of man-made greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere? 4. 0 means you completely disagree with the statement and 10 means you absolutely agree with the statement. Rising sea levels caused by global warming puts many coastal towns at risk of flooding 5. 0 means you completely disagree with the statement and 10 means you absolutely agree with the statement. The UK should exploit all its potential fossil fuel resources as much as possible to help grow the economy 6. 0 means you completely disagree with the statement and 10 means you absolutely agree with the statement. The government should give grants to companies that produce renewable energy. Part B 7. Do you think the UK should build more wind farms?

6 8. The local authority is currently reviewing Navitus Bay Wind Park; a proposed development of up to 194 wind turbines to be located off the Dorset and Hampshire coast. Are you aware of the project? 9. Do you support the project? (Only asked to those who answered Yes to question 8). 10. Would you support such a project? (Only asked to those who answered No to question 8). 11. Would your opinion be different if you knew that a fund would be created from the development to support local communities and infrastructure? (Only asked to those who answered No to question 9 and 10). 12. Would you support the project if you were assured that the development would not be visible from the coast? (Only asked to those who answered No to question 9 and 10). 13. Would you support the project if you knew that your household energy bills would go down as a result of the project? (Only asked to those who answered No to question 9 and 10). Depending on answers given, a minimum of nine to a maximum of twelve were asked of all correspondents. The research was split into two easily discernible sections in order to isolate people s opinions regarding energy consumption and the environment in the UK as a whole from their attitudes regarding the Navitus Bay Wind Farm. By doing this it became possible to distinguish how people s perceptions change regarding the environment and energy policies when they become directly affected by them, and whether people s opinions on the Navitus Bay Wind Farm were distinctly different or not to their opinion on energy as a whole. Not only does the research look into attitudes towards the Navitus Bay Wind Farm, it also looked at what initiatives could effectively promote the project more positively and encourage support amongst those who oppose it. All participants who stated they were against the project (whether they had heard of it previously or not) were asked if they would back the development if: (a) A fund was created from the development to support local communities and infrastructure. (b) They were assured the farm would not be visible from the coast. (c) Energy bills would go down as a result of the project. These are all potential solutions to combat negative attitudes towards the development, and could present ways for the developers to gain support. This section of the research also provides insight into how local residents would like to benefit from the proposed project and, as a consequence, provide ideas developers could use to encourage residents to support the project.

7 Research Findings Attitudes towards Renewable Energy, Recycling and Climate Change More renewable energy sources should be created and recycling is a worthwhile exercise The first part of the survey shows a trend of general positivity, with most people agreeing with or supporting renewable energy and the environmentally friendly proposals presented in the questions. With Question 1 Do you think that creating more renewable energy sources in the UK is important? - people reacted positively, and largely supported the idea of creating more renewable energy sources across the board; 39% of respondents gave a 10 out of 10 rating and 68% of those surveyed gave a rating of 8 or higher for this question, further substantiating this notion. Only 4.6% of respondents gave a rating of 3 or lower, with the only discrepancy at the lower end of the scale coming from the year olds, where 13% of those in this age range gave a 0 rating and over a quarter giving a rating of 5 or less. This trend of positivity continues throughout this first part of the survey, and similar results were obtained when respondents were asked about the importance of recycling Thinking about your own household recycling, how much of a difference do you think it makes to your local environment?. 29% of respondents gave a 10 rating, and 54% of respondents gave a rating of 8 or higher. Only 8% gave a 3 or lower score with and year olds representing half of that statistic. Self-employed respondents were less positive overall with 11% giving a 0 rating for this question. Those that did not feel their recycling had a positive impact on the local environment cited reasons such as not knowing what happens to the waste they recycle and not feeling that one person can really make a difference year olds are sceptical about the causes of global warming When questioned on global warming Do you believe that global warming is caused by the release of man-made greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere? 19% of all those questioned agreed with the statement implicitly and gave a 10 rating. Even though the percentage of respondents giving a 10 rating dropped ten points between each of the first three questions successively, there is still a general inclination amongst those questioned to support the statements they are presented with. The mean for this question sits at 6.4, much lower than the first (8.0) or second question (7.4), but this still denotes that the majority of people gave a high rating when it came to this question, with only the and age categories breaking the mould and disagreeing with the question; 13% of year olds and almost a quarter of the seemingly sceptical year olds gave a 0 rating.

8 Given the emotive nature of global warming, climate change and protecting our environment, it is possible that respondents gave positive, environmentally friendly answers as they did not want to appear insensitive or indifferent to these issues Mean for Part A of the Questionnaire 0 Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Fig. 1 Respondents feel their town is vulnerable to rising sea levels Respondents were asked to rate to what extent they agreed with the following statements: Rising sea levels caused by global warming puts many coastal towns at risk of flooding The UK should exploit all its potential fossil fuel resources as much as possible to help grow the economy The government should give grants to companies that produce renewable energy The first statement was included in the questionnaire as it is directly relevant to respondents living in Bournemouth while the second two have been included to understand current attitudes to energy sources and how these might affect support for the wind farm. Well over half of all respondents agree strongly (giving a rating of 8 or over) that coastal towns are at risk of flooding due to global warming although year olds are slightly less convinced with only 21% giving a rating of 10 as opposed to 37% of year olds. With regards to exploiting fossil fuels to grow the economy, respondents answers were spread evenly across the rating scale with 18% sitting on the fence with a rating of 5. However, older respondents were more inclined to agree strongly with this statement and believe the country should make the most of fossil fuels to drive the economy. This was particularly true of the over 65s where 27% gave a rating of 10.

9 General support for renewable energy but the expectation for the need of fossil fuels remains When you compare answer given at this question to answers given to the first question in the questionnaire ( Do you think that creating more renewable energy sources in the UK is important? ) some interesting differences come to light. It appears that while people would ideally prefer to use renewable energy, they are generally resigned to the continued use of fossil fuels, as the highest proportion of respondents gave an indifferent 5 rating (18%); this contrasts with the first question where 39% of respondents gave a 10 rating in support for the increased use of renewable energy. What can be discerned from the results is that although respondents agreed that the increased use of renewable energy sources is desirable, there is still the need to exploit fossil fuels for the good of the economy. The only age group that did not follow this trend was the 65+ group, which is less convinced of the importance of renewables, and much more supportive of the continued use of fossil fuels. Green companies should be rewarded Overall, there was strong support for the government giving grants to companies that produce renewable energy with 68% giving a rating of 8 or over. The year age bracket was particularly in favour of this suggestion with 50% saying they strongly agreed (a rating of 10) compared with only 23% of over 65 year olds. This question is relevant primarily because of the UK government s recent proposals to scrap subsidies for onshore wind farms, and via this research it is possible to gauge what the public support is for this policy. The Navitus Bay Wind Farm Project Whilst Part A of the survey dealt with general opinions regarding the environment and energy use, Part B focused on the Navitus Bay Wind Farm, a project (still in planning stages) due to be built 13.3 miles off the Bournemouth coast. Part A served to gain a broad understanding of people s opinions when it came to the environment, and it was expected to produce generally positive results which it did. As Part B was focused on a local project which would directly affect the participants it would then become possible to check how far attitudes diverged from the original questions, and whether opinions were different or not when people were directly affected by an environment project. From this the next logical step was to discuss with participants, if they opposed the plans, different ways opinions could be influenced to support the project, and how successful various different hypothetical initiatives would be in encouraging support. Women and younger adults strongly support the development of new wind farms When asked if the UK should build more wind farms, 60% of respondents felt that it should. What is interesting to see is the dichotomy between male and female respondents answers: a staggering 97% of women felt the UK should build more wind farms whereas less than a

10 quarter of men (21%) thought the same. Older respondents were less likely to support the development of more wind farms in the UK whereas almost all year olds (99%) supported the idea. When all the answers were interpreted and assessed, a steady downwards trend in support by age bracket was revealed: Yes (%) Fig. 2 Older respondents perceive wind farms as expensive and inefficient As with earlier questions, those who seem the least interested in the environment and sustainable energy were the oldest participants, the and 65+ year olds. What was surprising was how 99% of year olds believed more wind farms should be built, dropping to almost half that for the oldest age category. What is clear from the results is that the older the respondents, less interested in sustainable energy sources and wind farms they were. Greater support for the Navitus Bay project amongst under 45s Respondents were then asked if they were aware of the proposed Navitus Bay wind farm and it transpired that two thirds were aware of the plans. Once this had been established, the focus then turned to understanding how many people supported the project, whether they had previously heard of it or not. Respondents who were aware of the project were asked if they supported it and those who were previously unaware of the proposed wind farm development were asked if they would support it. Those who had not heard of the development previously were informed of what the project entailed and how they would be affected as a Bournemouth resident. Of those who were aware of the project 49% said they supported it, with 36% opposing it. Respondents between the ages of 18 and 44 largely supported the project, with an average of 84% across these ages supporting it (25-34 year olds contribute heavily to this statistic with 97% of respondents in this age category saying they support the wind farm development). Past the age of 45 however support dipped sharply; only 8% of year

11 olds supported the project, and 19% of the 65+ age group. In fact, 92% of year olds were opposed to the project, the highest of any of the demographics. When looking at work status as an identifier, most groups supported the development, especially Students (62%), Full Time Employed (64%), and the Unemployed (73%). Retired and Long term sick or disable were the two groups opposing the project, with 50% and 47% of each saying No respectively. When it came to those who had not heard of Navitus Bay, the outcomes were markedly different to those who were already aware of it. Yes 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Support A Support B Fig. 3. Support A denotes those who knew of the project; Support B are those who did not know of it prior to the survey. An eyesore vs the need to source energy from renewable sources As can be seen here there differences between the age categories varies considerably. For the first three age groups, as they are all lower, it can be presumed people are hesitant to entrust their support to something they knew nothing about prior to the survey, but this does not explain the rise in support from and 65+ age groups, both of which considerably increased their backing for the project. Respondents pledging support for the project in these older age groups cited reasons such as wanting to help the environment and fossil fuels running out. The age group remained lowest in its support, and relatively unchanged between the two groups; this falls in line with previous questions throughout the research, where this demographic has generally fallen short in support for environmentally friendly energy sources throughout the research. It s interesting to note that while 60% of respondents are in support of more wind farms being built in the UK, this figure falls to 49% for support A showing there is still a not in my backyard attitude amongst some residents.

12 Under 35 year olds would like to see the project support local communities The final three questions of the survey were only asked to those who said they did not, or would not, support the wind farm development, and were designed to determine whether various different hypothetical situations would change people s minds regarding the project. These initiatives/changes included a fund created from the development to support local communities and infrastructure, lowering household energy bills, and the assurance that the development would not be visible from the coast. 301 people, just over half of those originally surveyed, were asked these questions. These 301 people included those who had gave a No or Refused answer when asked if they supported, or would support, the Navitus Bay proposals. When asked whether they would support the project if a fund were created as a result of the wind farm to support local communities, only 28% said this would influence their opinion. However, this figure jumped sharply to 78% amongst year olds who have young families and would be the demographic most likely to benefit from the improvement of local infrastructure. Respondents cite youth centres, improved parks and facilities for under 5s as projects they would like to see benefit from a fund. All other age groups were still largely opposed, with and the strongest opponents rejecting the plans with 87% and 76% in each saying no respectively. Yes Answers; Tables 11-13(%) Table 11 Table 12 Table 13 Fig. 4

13 Almost two thirds of those opposed to the Navitus Bay wind farm would support the project if not visible from the coast Whilst few people were swayed by the idea of a local development fund, more respondents were supportive of lower energy bills and less visibility of the development. All age groups, barring year olds, increased their support for the wind farm project significantly in both these instances; change in support for the visibility question increased on average 28.2%, and 26% more of the respondents said they would back the project if their energy bills went down as a result. When year olds are not included in the average increase, the average point increases are 33.8% and 33.4% respectively. Were the most popular of each of these hypothetical situations to become reality, for each age group individually, then support amongst the 301 participants would jump on average 64.17%, or an increase of 193 people. When added to the original 305 (50.83%) who originally stated they supported the project, the total in support would equate to 498, or 83% of all 600 surveyed - a jump of 32 percentage points. Considering only half of the respondents supported the project originally, and the development s need for backing amongst local affected residents in order to become a reality, it would be illogical to not take into account these various concepts when attempting to build backing for the development. Not all the notions are feasible current plans for the Navitus Bay Wind Farm show it to be within clear visible distance of the Bournemouth coast but it is important to note how local residents could be persuaded to lend their support to the project.

14 Conclusion Respondents are generally supportive of renewable energy sources and support recycling and caring for the environment although some are sceptical about how their contribution can make a difference and would like to see more transparency when it comes to what happens to the waste they recycle and what costs are involved. There is also confusion when it comes to the cost of the infrastructure needed to exploit renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and tidal, how efficient these energy sources will be and whether they can really replace energy provided by fossil fuels. Fracking is mentioned as something that they would prefer to avoid although many also object to wind farms on the basis they are ugly and an eyesore. The research reveals that while the majority of respondents are strongly in favour of investing in renewable energy sources, support dips sharply when it comes to developing such projects in their local area. Almost two thirds of respondents who objected the proposed Navitus Bay wind farm suggested they would be swayed if they had the assurance that their energy bills would be lower and if the wind farm were not visible from the coast. Fewer respondents stated they would change their mind if the wind farm funded local community projects but for those for whom the idea appealed tended to be respondents with young families. The research also suggested that these incentives would have to be introduced in a sensitive manner as some respondents felt that by being offered lower energy bills, they were somehow being paid off. Transparency of cost benefit is also something that would help respondents better understand and accept such a project.