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Renewables are consistently popular, including locally – but the concept of NIMBY-ism (Not In My Back Yard) looms so large in the British psyche that the public (and even more so MPs) consistently overestimate the prevalence of people who oppose renewable technologies like onshore wind and solar being built in their area.
As numerous surveys and studies have shown, renewables are consistently more popular than fossil-fuel-based energy sources:
In common with wind power, though, there’s a perception gap: we underestimate this level of support, with only 39% thinking ‘other people’ would support (rather than oppose) living near a solar energy development. MPs also get it wrong, underestimating the level of support for solar and guessing that only 28% of their constituents would want to live near a solar farm.
Across the political spectrum, there are innovative proposals for overcoming this perception gap, which typically focus on delivering tangible benefits to local communities. But the struggle to convince elected representatives of the scale of public support for renewables, set against negative commentary in some (right-leaning) media, continues. It isn’t a recent phenomenon: there’s a longstanding challenge around how minority opposition to solar and onshore wind is amplified through media commentary, although Carbon Brief analysis shows newspapers across the political spectrum are now far more supportive of renewables than they were in the early 2010s (even if 2023 marked a high point for editorial opposition to some net zero goals).
But unlike onshore wind, where planning constraints have made developments almost impossible in some areas, solar power is proliferating. This is driven mainly by domestic (rooftop) installation, with campaigns from previously hesitant groups like the Campaign for Rural England advocating rooftop solar.
Labour, if it enters government, has pledged to remove fossil fuels from electricity generation by 2030. This ambitious goal has more support than opposition among the public, suggesting that whichever party is in power, speeding up the decarbonising of electricity generation would be seen favourably.
In fact, the latest Climate Barometer tracker data shows that although opposition is slightly higher among Conservative voters, there’s still a clear majority in favour of new pylons and power lines for carrying renewable energy built in the local area. Labour MPs in contrast underestimate the level of opposition currently being expressed in polls. If significant numbers of seats change hands at the next election, an accurate reading of public opinion will be crucial for candidates of all parties.
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?