POLL: Survey finds widespread support for wind farms among young Scots. What do you think of turbines?
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WIND turbines have widespread support among Scotland's young residents, a new survey by the renewables sector has claimed.
A poll, conducted by Survation on behalf of Scottish Renewables, sought to gauge the views of people aged 16 to 24.
It asked a range of questions exploring everything from support for wind farms to whether they had ever taken photos of turbines in the Scottish landscape.
It found that 250,000 Scots aged 16 to 24 have snapped an image of a turbine while out and about in the countryside – one Scottish wind farm alone has now been tagged 13,000 times on Instagram.
Almost half (45 per cent) of those questioned said they had snapped a picture of a turbine – and three quarters of those (75 per cent) say they did so because they like the way it looked.
It also found that 90 per cent of Scottish youths feel renewable energy technologies like wind turbines have a role to play in tackling climate change.
And it added that two-thirds support the use of onshore wind to generate power – with just seven per cent opposed.
Scottish Renewables' chief executive, Claire Mack, said: “We already know that concern about the impacts of climate change is rising, and this new research shows the efforts we’re taking to tackle it are finding favour, too.
“The UK government’s own figures show us that support for onshore wind power is near an all-time high – figures which were reflected in research carried out specifically in rural Scotland by Scottish Renewables in autumn 2018.
“The young Scots questioned as part of this survey are people who will be most affected by climate change in the near future so it’s hugely encouraging that they are so positive about renewable energy’s role in tackling its effects before they happen.”
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