SavvyQuest™: U.S. Energy Focus and Investment
The United States Government announced that the Department of Energy will provide $18.5 billion in federal loan guarantees to several companies so that they can build the next generation of Nuclear Power Plants. In partnership with The Mobile Marketing Association, Luth Research leveraged their online panel, SurveySavvy™, to conduct this SavvyQuest omnibus survey to gauge general population attitudes on the topic of energy and, more specifically, nuclear energy. The study fielded from July 7 to July 14, 2009, netting 1,001 respondents with demographics balanced against U.S. Census data.
When asked to pick the top three forms of energy that they would like the United States to focus on to better produce energy in the U.S., 24% of those asked chose nuclear. This compares to solar (84%), wind (70%) natural gas (38%), hydro (32%), petroleum (21%), ethanol (16%), and coal (11%).
Males were significantly more likely to select nuclear as compared to females (37% vs. 12%). In fact, more than three fourths of respondents selecting nuclear were male.
While 80% of the population agrees that the U.S. should help finance the development of new energy sources, 50% agree that the U.S. should invest in the production of nuclear facilities. This compares to almost a quarter of the population (23%) that disagree with the financing of nuclear power plants and an additional 26% that neither agree nor disagree. While nuclear energy is not a top three choice for three-fourths of the population, it is still viewed as a positive energy source deserving of investment by 50% of the population.
Exploring the idea of new nuclear power plants being built, the survey asked respondents how they would feel if they learned that there were plans to build a nuclear power plant within 30 miles of their home. It was found that approximately one in three people (32%) would be glad because they believe that they may get their energy cheaper having a nuclear power plant close to their home. A similar 32% would be glad because they believe that nuclear is a better source of power. Additionally, 30% would be glad because they think it would create more jobs in their area. While 17% wouldn’t care either way if a nuclear power plant was being built within 30 miles of their home, 27% would be upset and sign a petition or protest and 14% would be upset but do nothing about it.
Supporting a common theme regarding the gender differences related to nuclear, among those that would be upset and protest or sign a petition, 61% were women. Furthermore, African Americans (38%) were more likely to oppose and be willing to act against a nearby nuclear plant by signing a petition or protesting, compared to 25% of Asians, 25% of Caucasians, and 28% of Hispanics.
About SavvyQuest
SavvyQuest is an Omnibus survey service provided by Luth Research leveraging SurveySavvy™, the company’s high-quality multimillion-member online panel. With SavvyQuest, an online survey with a target total of 1,000 completes is fielded based on a weekly schedule, which can be tailored to on-demand schedules if needed. The 1,000 completes are balanced to reflect the U.S. Census demographic distributions on gender, age and ethnicity. The sample can be later weighted to reflect online population distributions if it is so desired. For more information, please contact Becky Wu, Vice President of Research, at bwu@luthresearch.com.