A new poll indicates that 73% of British Columbia residents support NaiKun Wind Energy Group Inc.'s offshore wind project in the province.
NaiKun commissioned Vancouver-based research firm Mustel Group to ask a question in its monthly public-opinion survey about the wind farm, which will be located in Hecate Strait between Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) and Prince Rupert on the North Coast of British Columbia.
The survey was conducted Sept. 2-8.
‘We are encouraged that British Columbians generally approve of our offshore wind project,’ says Paul Taylor, NaiKun president and CEO. ‘The results also support the B.C. government's commitment to develop clean, renewable, made-in-B.C. electricity to help meet the province's growing energy needs.’
The first phase of NaiKun's project includes the installation of up to 110 wind turbines.
Participants were read the following statement: ‘Large-scale offshore wind farms take advantage of strong, consistent winds to produce power that is clean and sustainable. NaiKun Wind Energy Group is proposing to build a wind farm in the waters of Hecate Strait, 100 kilometers from Prince Rupert, to help meet B.C.'s future needs for renewable energy.’
Respondents were then asked to rate their approval or disapproval of NaiKun's project on a scale of zero to 10, in which zero indicates total disapproval and 10 indicates total approval.
The strong majority of respondents expressed some level of approval for the NaiKun project (73% gave a rating of six or higher), with more than one-quarter of respondents indicating they strongly approve of the project (29% rate their approval as 10 out of 10).
Five percent of respondents expressed some level of disapproval for the project (with ratings of zero to four); 22% were either neutral (11% gave a rating of five) or expressed no opinion (11%).
The margin of error was plus or minus 4.4% with a 95% confidence level.
SOURCE: NaiKun Wind Energy Group Inc.
