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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.
The new Labour government has brought its plans for a publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy, to parliament.
The Great British Energy Bill was formally introduced to the House of Commons on the 25th of July, and the bill is expected to pass through its second stage in early September.
Following a long-standing commitment to base the energy company in Scotland, Labour have since announced GB Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen.
In a widely anticipated move, the new Labour government announced reforms to the planning system which make the development of onshore wind farms easier (the previous Conservative government had a def-facto ‘ban’ in place).
Onshore wind is a very popular form of energy, which people across the political spectrum support. Whilst reforms of the planning system remove an important barrier to the development of onshore wind farms, early (and inclusive) community engagement is also a critical piece of the puzzle.
YouGov carried out polling just after the July 4th General Election, focused on the planning reforms Labour had announced. Whilst building houses on the ‘green belt’ provoked across-the-board opposition, building green infrastructure was widely popular:
Six in ten (60%) Britons favour ending the current ban in England on building new onshore wind farms, with more strongly supporting such an overturn (30%) than opposing it to any degree (23%). Not only can this policy count on the support of at least half of all groups, it is the most popular of Labour’s proposed reforms among Conservative voters, with 54% in favour of scrapping the ban.