New Survey Shows Strong Support for Nuclear Energy
Mar 19 - GlobeNewswire
Large majorities of Americans support nuclear energy and
believe it will be important for the future, a new national
public opinion survey shows. Public support for nuclear energy
is particularly strong in the Midwest and in the South, where
five reactors are being built.
Americans rank reliability and clean air—two of nuclear energy's
chief attributes—as their top two considerations for the way
electricity is produced.
"On a wide range of measures, the new survey shows an upturn in
support for nuclear energy over the past year. What really
stands out to me, having surveyed public opinion in this area
for more than 30 years, is the sustained positive turnaround in
public attitudes on nuclear energy over the past quarter
century," said Ann Bisconti , president of Bisconti Research
Inc.
"In 1983, when the Nuclear Energy Institute's public tracking
program began, only half the public favored nuclear energy. Now,
more than two-thirds of Americans are favorable."
Bisconti's firm, along with Quest Global Research , conducted
the survey for the Nuclear Energy Institute from Feb. 18 to
March 1 . It has a margin of error of plus or minus three
percentage points.
Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed said they "favor the use
of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in
the United States ," with 30 percent opposed. In the Midwest, 76
percent of respondents favor the use of nuclear energy, as do 71
percent of respondents in the South.
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Seventy-eight percent of respondents believe nuclear energy will
be important in meeting the nation's electricity needs in the
years ahead; 19 percent feel it will not be important.
In a national survey by Bisconti Research one year ago, 63
percent of Americans favored the use of nuclear energy, and 74
percent felt nuclear energy will be important in meeting future
electricity needs.
The new survey also shows a notable increase over the past year
in public perceptions of nuclear energy safety. Seventy-nine
percent of respondents agree that "nuclear power plants
operating in the United States are safe and secure." In two
surveys in 2014, that sentiment was expressed by 70 percent of
respondents.
"The 30-year trend on nuclear plant safety is remarkable,"
Bisconti said. "Just 35 percent of the public assigned high
safety ratings on a seven-point scale when first surveyed on
this question in 1984. In the spring 2015 survey, 64 percent
rate the safety of nuclear power plants high."
The survey shows that reliability and clear air benefits stand
out among eight considerations in electricity production,
Bisconti said. Eighty-three percent assigned "top importance" to
reliable electricity production, and 82 percent to clean air,
with affordability third at 75 percent.
The survey finds near-unanimity on the value of energy
diversity. Ninety-six percent of Americans believe it is
important to maintain energy diversity; 76 percent consider it
very important to do so.
Similarly, 86 percent of Americans say "we should take advantage
of all low-carbon energy sources, including nuclear, hydro and
renewable energy, to produce the electricity we need while
limiting greenhouse gas emissions."
Nuclear energy facilities operating in 30 states produce
electricity for one of every five U.S. homes and businesses.
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The Nuclear Energy Institute is the nuclear energy industry's
policy organization. This news release and additional
information about nuclear energy are available at www.nei.org .
A photo accompanying this release is available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=31533
CONTACT:Contact NEI's media relations staff at media@nei.org , 202.739.8000 during business hours or 703.644.8805 after hours and weekends.
Source: Nuclear Energy Institute