Public support for renewables remains at a record high according to official figures released today, while backing for shale gas has hit its lowest ever level. The latest results from the government’s quarterly Wave Tracker survey, which questioned over 2,000 households between September and October, found 82 per cent of people support renewable energy, up from 77 per cent earlier this year and 79 per cent the same time last year. Opposition to renewable energy remains very low, at just three per cent. Solar once again proved the most popular renewable technology with 84 per cent support, while 79 per cent of people back offshore wind. Meanwhile a record 74 per cent of people back the development of onshore wind, an all-time high for the technology and at odds with the government’s manifesto pledge of blocking new large onshore wind developments in England. The news was not so positive for the fracking industry: public support for the nascent sector has hit its lowest level since surveys on the subject began in 2014. Although 48 per cent of respondents said they neither support or oppose fracking, of those that did offer an opinion 36 per cent of people opposed it and only 13 per cent supported it. Just one per cent of respondents said they strongly support shale gas extraction, compared to a figure of 35 per cent for solar energy.
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