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In the battle for hearts and minds of Australians with regard to the nation’s energy future, renewables are still the victor according to the results of a recent Reachtel Poll.
The survey of 3,999 Australians on July 30 indicated more than 67% believe renewable energy should receive more government support than fossil fuels such as coal.
It will come as no surprise this view had the strongest support among Greens voters (93.9% agree/strongly agree) and lowest among One Nation voters (35.4%). However, 47.3% of Liberal supporters also agreed or strongly agreed, outpacing those who disagreed/strongly disagreed (45.4%).
Of all Australians polled, just over 60% agreed that the influence coal and energy companies wield over Australia’s politicians has resulted in the nation having a lower percentage of renewables than it otherwise would.
The positive views of renewables go beyond the warm and fuzzy tree-hugging aspects – dollars and cents come into play.
More than two-thirds agreed the best approach for Australia’s government to take to ensure low cost reliable electricity supply is to invest in renewables, along with dispatchable storage solutions including batteries.
National Energy Guarantee “Pathetic”
The Reachtel poll was commissioned by Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
“Australians want lower electricity prices and the way to achieve that is to get more renewables in the energy mix,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific Head of Research and Investigations, Nikola Casule. “The Australian people know it and expect governments to act on it.”
Greenpeace says the Federal Government’s “pathetic” National Energy Guarantee (NEG) will nobble the renewable energy industry – going against both the will of the Australian people and realities of the energy market.
While Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg was hoping to get the NEG over the line this week at the COAG Energy Council meeting, that is unlikely to eventuate. Minister Frydenberg has turned up the pressure on Queensland, Victoria and the ACT, but among their concerns all three believe the level of emissions cuts to be imposed on the electricity sector are not deep enough and are also demanding Prime Minister Turnbull is able to demonstrate solid Coalition party room support for the NEG.
Solar’s Bill Busting Street Cred Strong
The Reachtel survey also asked a question about rooftop solar. 78% of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that installing solar panels reduced electricity bills, with just 16.6% disagreeing/strongly disagreeing.
A majority of Australians (59.7%) remain optimistic that by 2030 energy sources such as wind and solar power will provide the majority of Australia’s electricity.
The full results of the survey can be viewed here (PDF).
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