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Stories of local opposition to renewable energy projects are very recognisable narratives – the idea of ‘not in my backyard’ is one that drives the discourse around many community initiatives. But it doesn’t always stand up to scrutiny, and misperceptions around public opinion abound.
Stories of local opposition to renewable energy projects are very recognisable narratives – the idea of ‘Not In My Backyard’ (NIMBY-ism) is one that drives the discourse around many community initiatives.
But it doesn’t always stand up to scrutiny, and misperceptions around public opinion abound.
Polling of rural voters by Public First for the centre-right think tank Onward found that the majority, across all political divides, supported (rather than opposed) a solar farm three miles from their home. A survey by Britain Remade found that although there was a drop in support for local wind and solar versus support ‘in general’, the drop was only around 10%. Our own Climate Barometer tracker data backs this up, with local solar and wind farms favoured much more than fossil fuel developments (drilling or mining).
Wider research shows how supportive people are of solar in its various guises: for example, more people are in favour (48%) of installing solar panels on historic buildings, if not visible from the ground, than oppose it (27%). 68% would be embarrassed by their MP if they were campaigning to prevent a solar park being built in their area, and 73% strongly support or somewhat support creating publicly owned renewable energy (solar, as well as wind and wave/tidal energy).
Not only that, accounts of local concern and uncertainty around new or hypothetical clean energy projects may not stick around once projects are completed. Polling by Censuswide and Copper Consultancy, reported by The Times, finds that solar farms increase in popularity after they are built (62% strongly support) compared with when they are in development (17% strongly support). Living near pre-existing clean energy infrastructure doesn’t seem to affect support for future clean energy projects in a negative way. In fact, those who live near clean energy projects are more likely to support than oppose more of it.
People also tend to overestimate the level of opposition to clean energy – a theme throughout the Renewables topic thread and explored in depth in Perception Gaps. Climate Barometer tracker data shows this trend is even more pronounced among MPs: only 18% believe that in their constituency more would support than oppose a new wind farm, and MPs overall overestimate public opposition (at 45%, compared with the actual figure of 28%).
New data from the spring 2026 wave of the DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker shows that 1 in 10 owner occupiers have already installed solar panels on their home and a further 57% say they would definitely or probably do so in the next few years. This presents an increase from 52% who said the same in spring 2025 but is still slightly below peak values in spring 2023.
When asked about the main reasons for considering solar, those who were likely to install them listed cutting electricity bills (83%), the renewable nature of the technology (72%) and reduced dependence on the electricity grid (51%).
Among owner occupiers who were unlikely to install solar panels, the main reasons for not considering the technology were the installation being too expensive (55%) and the payback taking too long (53%).
When asked what would encourage them to consider getting solar, 3 in 4 owner-occupiers named better financial support for installation (75%), followed by a guarantee scheme to cover any faults or damage (50%) and better financial incentives to sell excess electricity back to the grid (44%). These three incentives remain unchanged as top 3 since spring 2024, emphasising that the high outlay cost remains the largest barrier for those eligible to install solar on their homes.
New data from the spring 2026 wave of the DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker shows owner-occupiers are now more likely to say they already have or are likely to install a heat pump when they next need to change their heating system or boiler.
26% now say they have either already installed an air source heat pump or are very or fairly likely to install one when their heating system next needs upgrading. This is up 6 percentage points from the winter 2021 baseline and equals the previous peak from spring 2025. Change appears to be largely driven by fewer people saying they don’t know enough about the heating technology, now at 21%, which equals values in spring and summer 2025 but is down from 39% in winter 2021.
The share of owner-occupiers who say they are likely to install a ground source heat pump is lower, though an uptick from summer and winter 2025 is also observable here: 17% say they either already have or are very or fairly likely to install the technology next time their heating system needs upgrading, close to the highest point of 18% from spring 2025.
How did climate show up at the 2026 elections?