A poll conducted by New Jersey-based Monmouth University finds that the vast majority of Garden State residents support the development of wind farms off the state’s coast.
Conducted Feb. 8-10 by the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, N.J., the survey polled 604 New Jersey adults. Three-quarters (76%) would favor placing wind farms off the coast of the state, while just 15% would oppose it, and 10% do not know. Past support for offshore wind farms was slightly higher, ranging between 80% and 84% in polls taken between 2008 and 2011. Support is high among Democrats (79%), Independents (77%) and Republicans (69%).
“There is broad, bipartisan agreement that moving forward with offshore wind projects should be a priority,” says Tony MacDonald, director of the Urban Coast Institute at Monmouth University.
About half of Garden State residents (48%) say significantly increasing the amount of offshore wind energy should be a major priority for New Jersey over the next 10 years. Another 34% say it should be a minor priority, and just 11% say it should not be a priority at all. Two-thirds (66%) of Democrats say it should be a major priority; they are joined by 43% of independents and 32% of Republicans who say the same.
According to the survey, few New Jerseyans believe that developing offshore wind will lead to an increase in their own utility rates. In the short term, just 19% expect that their rates would go up for the next few years, while 35% say their rates would actually decrease, and another 35% say they would stay the same.
Over the long term, just 15% expect their rates would be higher 10 years from now, while a majority (52%) expect them to be lower than they would be if no new projects were developed. Another 24% expect to see no change in their rates a decade from now.
Younger residents under age 35 are more optimistic about their rates going down in the long run (65%) than are those ages 35 to 54 (52%) or those 55 and older (41%). People who earn over $100,000 a year are more likely to believe their electricity rates will decrease (60%) in the long term if more offshore wind energy is developed than are people who earn $50,000 to $100,000 (50%) or people who earn less than $50,000 (49%).
Although New Jersey residents are generally supportive of offshore wind, 45% would oppose developing more wind farms if it caused their electricity rates to increase. Four out of 10 (41%) would still favor development. Slightly over half of Democrats (54%) would favor development even if their electricity costs went up, but only around one-third of Independents (35%) and Republicans (30%) would favor it.
There is a similar split by age: 53% of those ages 18 to 34 would favor offshore wind farm development, while 36% of those ages 35 to 54 and 35% of people 55 and older would favor it.
Support for wind energy development is divided at each income level if it would cause electricity rates to increase over the next few years. Among those who earn less than $50,000 a year, 38% would still favor wind energy development if their rates went up, while 42% would oppose it. The opinion stands at 40% favor and 50% oppose among those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 and at 45% favor and 42% oppose among those earning over $100,000.
“This could be tricky for clean energy advocates,” says Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “Support for wind energy could drop once New Jersey ratepayers become aware of any development costs they will have to bear. However, they could become more willing to shoulder some of that investment if they are convinced it will lead to real environmental benefits.”
The poll also finds that New Jerseyans are not enthusiastic about other possible options to meet the state’s energy needs. Just three in 10 favor drilling for oil and gas off the state’s coast, while twice as many (61%) oppose it. Nearly half of Republicans (48%) would currently favor offshore oil and gas drilling, but less than one-third of Independents (31%) and only 18% of Democrats feel the same.
Expanding nuclear power is no more popular than offshore drilling, according to the poll. Only one-quarter of New Jerseyans (26%) would favor building another nuclear power plant in the state, while two-thirds (67%) would oppose it.
“There seems to be a recognition that the long-term economic and environmental benefits of investing in clean, renewable energy sources outweigh any short-term costs,” adds MacDonald. “At the same time, New Jerseyans no longer seem willing to accept the environmental risks of offshore drilling and nuclear power as a price for lowering their energy costs.”
More on the results can be found here.
