Survey shows 62% of Welsh people back wind farms

May 5, 2014 - About 62% of the population in Wales support the construction of wind farms, a new YouGov study shows.

According to the poll, commissioned by RenewableUK Cymru, as many as 64% of the surveyed favour the development of large-scale wind projects in their local area, while 81% support nearby solar parks. Meanwhile, only 22% of Wales’ residents are ok with shale gas in the vicinity and 31% back nuclear power plants.

By electricity source, the poll shows that 26% of the people in Wales would rather have their electricity generated from hydropower plants, the annual survey found out. The share for solar and wind was 23% and 14%, respectively. Only 5% of the population prefer electricity from fossil fuels, while 2% are coal supporters.

About 1,174 adults took part in the study, with 397 of the respondents being between the ages of 40 and 59.

At the end of April, the Daily Mail said that the UK government would reduce the subsidies for large-scale solar projects in the country in the coming weeks. A few days earlier, the Conservative party said it would not subsidise the development of new onshore wind farms if it wins the elections in 2015.

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