Comparing public support for nuclear and wind energy in Washington State

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 18; no. 4; p. e0284208
• Main Authors: Uji, Azusa, Song, Jaehyun, Dolšak, Nives, Prakash, Aseem
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 26.04.2023; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Alternative energy sources; Biology and Life Sciences; Buildings and facilities; Carbon; Clean energy; Climate change; Economic aspects; Economic growth; Electricity; Emissions; Energy costs; Energy industry; Energy policy; Energy resources; Energy security; Energy sources; Energy-Generating Resources; Engineering and Technology; Evaluation; Health risks; Humans; Industrial plant emissions; Medicine and Health Sciences; Multiple regression models; Net zero; Nuclear energy; Nuclear power plants; Nuclear proliferation; People and places; Perceptions; Physical Sciences; Public Opinion; Public Policy; Radiation; Regression analysis; Regression models; Renewable energy; Renewable resources; Respondents; Social Sciences; Stability; Surveys; Washington; Wind; Wind power; Washington; United States; United States > US; Washington (state)
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284208

The proliferation of country and state-level net zero-emission commitments, rising energy costs, and the quest for energy security in the wake of the Ukraine crisis have renewed the debate about the future of energy sources. As opposed to elite discourse, the energy policy preferences of the public remain less explored. While many public opinion surveys report preferences for a specific type of clean energy, there is less work on understanding choices among different types. We explore whether support for nuclear over wind energy at the state level depends on how people assess the impact of these energy sources on health, local jobs, landscape disruption, and the stability of the electricity supply. Importantly, we seek to understand where people physically reside (and their experience of existing energy possibilities) might influence their energy policy preferences. We estimate multiple regression models with OLS with our original survey data of a representative sample of Washington residents (n = 844). We find that the physical proximity to existing energy facilities does not influence support for nuclear over wind energy. However, this support is shaped by the importance respondents attach to health (-), jobs (-), landscapes (+), and supply stability (+) dimensions of energy source. Moreover, the physical proximity to existing energy facilities moderates the importance respondents attach to these dimensions.