New attitudes toward wind

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1990 · Independent Energy; (United States)

OSTI ID:5424623

Gipe, P

Despite highly vocal opposition to specific projects near Los Angeles, opinion surveys still found strong support for wind energy. The first, a mail survey Consumer Attitude and Choice in Local Energy Development, was conducted by Robert Thayer at the University of California's Davis campus. The other survey, conducted by Dr. Phyllis Bosley at Towson State University targeted national environmental leaders. The Thayer survey examined how people view four energy technologies - biomass, nuclear, fossil, and wind - and where they would find them most acceptable. Of the six factors Thayer measure - safety, reliability, environmental impacts, cost, dependence on foreign oil, and visual impacts - wind energy's big bugaboo, visual impact, was the least important. Wind turbines do produce a strong NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) response among customers, however. The Bosley study of national environmental leaders found, somewhat surprisingly, that the Sierra Club held slightly more positive views toward wind energy than environmental leaders in general. Nationally, solar was seen as the most cost effective energy source, followed by wind. The survey compared attitudes toward four energy technologies: solar, wind, fossil fuels, and nuclear power. There was general agreement among the environmentalists that both wind and solar were environmentally superior energy sources to fossil fuels and nuclear power.

• OSTI ID: 5424623
• Journal Information: Independent Energy; (United States), Journal Name: Independent Energy; (United States) Vol. 20:3; ISSN XY987; ISSN 1043-7320
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

17 WIND ENERGY
170400* -- Wind Energy-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects
AESTHETICS
ATTITUDES
BIOMASS
CALIFORNIA
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COST
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
EVALUATION
FEDERAL REGION IX
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MACHINERY
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR POWER
PETROLEUM
POWER
POWER PLANTS
PUBLIC OPINION
RELIABILITY
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SAFETY
SOLAR ENERGY
SOLAR POWER PLANTS
SURVEYS
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY
USA
WIND
WIND POWER
WIND POWER PLANTS
WIND TURBINES