Poll finds support for fossil, renewable energy

Apr 11 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Puneet Kollipara Houston Chronicle


Politicians on all sides of the nation's energy debate can find things to ponder in a new poll that suggests Americans are inclined to develop natural gas resources and build a disputed oil pipeline from Canada, but also want the government to support renewable energy.

According to a University of Texas energy poll released Tuesday, 61 percent of Americans said they'd be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who backs more natural gas, while only 7 percent said such a candidate would be less likely to get their votes.

The poll found 50 percent of Americans are more likely to support a candidate who endorses the Keystone XL pipeline linking oil sands in Canada to refineries in Texas. Just 15 percent said such a candidate would be less likely to win their support.

Favored approaches

Majorities of respondents said they're more likely to support a candidate who favors three specific clean energy policies:

1 Incentives for renewable energy, 59 percent.

1 Additional federal funding for energy technology research, 59 percent.

1 Requirements that electricity utilities generate a certain proportion of energy from renewable sources, 57 percent.

The poll of 2,371 Americans was conducted March 5-16. The pollsters did not disclose the sampling error.

The results could reinforce Republican attacks on President Barack Obama's decision to reject a permit for the leg of the Keystone pipeline that would cross the U.S.-Canada border.

But it might dampen another GOP energy talking point, the government loan guarantee to Solyndra, a California solar panel maker now in bankruptcy.

The poll found that a majority approve of federal support for renewable energy despite the Solyndra backlash.

Price expectations

Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they expect gasoline prices to keep rising over the next six months.

"While most respondents expect prices to continue rising, they're also more optimistic about our energy future, perhaps because of the abundance of natural gas and other domestic energy resources," said Wayne Hoyer, co-director of the survey and professor and marketing department chair at the McCombs School of Business.

The poll found only a third of respondents were familiar with hydraulic fracturing -- a production technology that has been central to the gas boom but also has raised environmental concerns. Of those who said they're familiar with the process, which involves injecting a mix of water, sand and chemicals into a formation to force out trapped oil and gas, 48 percent support its use, compared with 35 percent who oppose it, according to the poll.

But the poll found strong support for regulations, such as mandatory disclosure of fracturing chemicals.

puneet.kollipara@chron.com

 

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