The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) has released the results of a new poll demonstrating strong support from U.S. business leaders for renewable energy and limits on carbon pollution.
Conducted with Global Strategy Group in early June, the survey polled 800 business leaders in the Southwest and Midwest. By a margin of more than two to one, respondents say that the U.S. should emphasize alternative energy like solar and wind over the production of fossil fuels. By the same margin, business leaders also support federal regulations that would significantly reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, such as the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recently proposed Clean Power Plan.
‘This poll validates the economic opportunity of renewable energy in this country,’ says Dan Adle, ACORE board co-chair and president of CalCEF. ‘At a pivotal moment for energy policy in America, this polling data should encourage EPA to double down on renewable energy as they move forward with finalizing their new carbon rule.’
Overwhelmingly, respondents also believe that renewable energy technologies are good for their own businesses: Four in five say that using renewable energy can help their own businesses, and three-quarters say renewable energy will reduce costs for their business over the next 10 to 20 years.
‘As a business owner myself, I see that renewable energy has a lot to offer," says Steve Morgan, ACORE board member and CEO of American Clean Energy. "Whether it's through putting solar on your roof to cut electricity costs or doing business deals with the clean energy supply chain, renewables are feeding the U.S. economy and are a growing, profitable American industry that's here to stay.’
