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Americans Want More Emphasis on Solar, Wind, Natural Gas
March 27, 2013
Americans Want More Emphasis on Solar, Wind, Natural Gas
Oil, nuclear, and coal are more popular with Republicans and in the South
by Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist
PRINCETON, NJ -­-­ No fewer than two in three Americans want the U.S. to put more emphasis on producing domestic
energy using solar power (76%), wind (71%), and natural gas (65%). Far fewer want to emphasize the production of oil
(46%) and the use of nuclear power (37%). Least favored is coal, with about one in three Americans wanting to prioritize its
domestic production.
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Americans Want More Emphasis on Solar, Wind, Natural Gas
Democrats' and independents' top choice is solar power, while natural gas places first among Republicans. Republicans and
Democrats disagree most on the priority that should be given to oil as a future energy source -­-­ with 71% of Republicans
wanting more emphasis placed on it, compared with 29% among Democrats. Republicans are also much more supportive
than Democrats of coal (51% vs. 21%) and nuclear power (49% vs. 30%).
Where Americans live makes a difference in their views about which sources of domestic energy they want the U.S. to
emphasize more. Those living in the South tend to be more supportive of traditional energy sources such as oil and coal
than are those in other regions.
Still, for Americans in every region, including the South, solar power is the top choice, or is tied for the top spot, among the
energy sources tested.
Implications
The United States has a great opportunity to accelerate its economic growth over the next several years by emphasizing
and fully using its enormous energy riches to produce domestic energy. But there has been no consensus among Americans
about how to optimize domestic energy production while preserving the environment.
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Americans overall and across political and socioeconomic groups generally are most likely to call for more emphasis on
solar and wind power -­-­ but these potential future sources of energy have a long way to go in terms of technology and
affordability before they can significantly affect overall U.S. domestic energy production. On the other hand, Americans are
sharply divided politically over achieving greater domestic energy production using more traditional energy sources such
as oil, coal, and nuclear power.
This leaves natural gas, which 59% of Democrats, 62% of independents, and 79% of Republicans say should have more
emphasis in the U.S. The technology exists to allow natural gas to become a more significant contributor to U.S. domestic
energy production. But questions remain about the safety of "fracking technology" -­-­ meaning public support may not be
enough to increase the U.S. emphasis on this energy source.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted March 7-­10, 2013, with a random sample of 1,022 adults,
aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error
is ±4 percentage points.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for
respondents who are primarily Spanish-­speaking. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone
respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by region. Landline telephone numbers are chosen at
random among listed telephone numbers. Cellphones numbers are selected using random digit dial methods. Landline respondents
are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.
Samples are weighted to correct for unequal selection probability, nonresponse, and double coverage of landline and cell users in the
two sampling frames. They are also weighted to match the national demographics of gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education,
region, population density, and phone status (cellphone only/landline only/both, cellphone mostly, and having an unlisted landline
number). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2012 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older
U.S. population. Phone status targets are based on the July-­December 2011 National Health Interview Survey. Population density
targets are based on the 2010 census. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the
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findings of public opinion polls.
View methodology, full question results, and trend data.
For more details on Gallup's polling methodology, visit www.gallup.com.
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