How Popular is Renewable Energy in the U.S.?

Renewable energy is undoubtedly the way of our nation’s energy future. Supporters of a green, eco-friendly lifestyle, progressives, and techies love renewable energy, but does the average Joe see renewable energy as a viable energy source? We scoured the Internet and found that most Americans support the idea of renewable energy, though they rarely put that theoretical support into action.

One way we can measure the country’s opinions about renewable energy is to derive some insights from the information Americans have volunteered about the environmental and energy topics that our nation faces today. We gleaned the following information from a recent Pew Research study:

• It appears that Americans theoretically support renewable energy, though they often fail to follow through on that support when it comes to supporting specific legislation. When asked if they support alternative energy most Americans support the idea; however, when you asked them about specific policy questions, they tended to support offshore oil and gas drilling more.
• There is broad support to limit power plant emissions, with 64% in favor vs. 31% opposed.
• There is also strong support for environmental protection, but also concerns about whether or not protecting the environment is worth the sometimes-steep cost. In fact, the largest partisan gap exists on the issues of environment and global warming. This should not be very surprising considering that they are hot-button topics.
• Americans generally support the creation of the Keystone XL pipeline, with 59% of Americans in support, while 31% oppose.
• The nation still hasn’t figured out how we feel about the increased use of fracking. 41% of people surveyed support the increased use of fracking, while 47% oppose it.

Data from one 2013 Gallup poll shows that Americans have a great desire for renewable energy, specifically with an emphasis on solar, wind, and natural gas. There is also a good deal of support for nuclear power—51% today.

The sum of these data appears to tell the tale that Americans are open to renewable energy, but widespread adoption will happen incredibly slowly. This is understandable, as perceived higher costs of energy generated from renewable energy sources can scare many potential users away. After all, Renewable energy costs a lot of money, in part, because of the large amount of land required to create sufficient energy to power the nation on a large scale.

Are you curious to learn more about America’s views on renewable energy? Click here for some further reading!