Voters in Iowa – a state where 18.8% of the electricity has been generated by wind so far this year – overwhelmingly approve of wind energy and the companies that make it, according to a new poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Public Opinion Strategies completed a poll of 400 likely 2012 voters in Iowa. The poll has a margin of error of +/-4.9% in 95 out of 100 cases.
Results of the survey include the following:
– 85% of voters statewide have a favorable impression of wind energy and wind power companies, including 62% with a ‘very favorable’ impression;
– A majority of Iowa voters choose wind as their preferred energy source for the state (more than a 3-to-1) over all other sources; and
– Over eight in 10 voters (81%) say wind energy companies have been good for the state's economy, while 77% say these companies have helped bring new jobs to the state.
‘In the state that knows wind energy the best, people overwhelmingly like it – and the companies that make it,’ says Denise Bode, CEO of AWEA. ‘These poll results ought to reassure anyone thinking about inviting wind energy into their community, and getting all the rural economic development benefits and manufacturing base that Iowa has gotten from wind power.’
