Ministers have ditched part of a government survey that tracks public attitudes towards renewable energy as they move to slash subsidies from solar and wind generation.
Since 2012, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has monitored changing views on different sources of power generation in face-to-face interviews across the UK. But the latest survey – commissioned after the general election when the Liberal Democrats lost the department – reveals striking omissions. In particular respondents were no longer asked their views on certain types of renewable energy.
The previous survey, in March, revealed that solar energy was supported by 81 per cent and onshore wind by 65 per cent of the population.
Daisy Sands, Greenpeace’s head of energy, said: “It appears DECC doesn’t want to highlight just how popular renewable energy is.”
The department said there was nothing untoward in the omission: “As public support has been stable, the frequency of renewable questions has been reduced. Data on specific renewables will still be published twice a year.”
