Poll: Majority of Americans Oppose Reducing Incentives for Renewable Energy

56.8% oppose GOP plan to cut and eliminate incentives for wind and solar

Nationwide Generic Congressional Ballot Test: Democrats lead by 9.7 percent

PHOENIX (December 18, 2017) – Voters across the country oppose the GOP's plan to gut incentives for wind and solar energy production, according to a new nationwide poll.

The national online poll of 1,004 people, commissioned by ConservAmerica and conducted by OH Predictive Insights from December 13–16, found 60% of voters oppose cutting incentives for renewable energy. The poll also found 57% of voters said incentives for renewable energy should be increased. MoE ±3.09%.

"The GOP approaches to wind and solar power are overwhelmingly opposed by voters across the U.S.," said Mike Noble, managing partner and chief pollster at OH Predictive Insights.

While the GOP plan rolls back production tax incentives for wind and solar and reduces the viability of financing tools for future projects, the voting public overwhelmingly disagrees, with 60.3% opposing and 22.7% supporting the cuts.

"Voters overwhelmingly agree: Instead of reducing incentives for clean energy, Congress should be looking at ways to make investing in renewable energy cheaper," Noble said. "If we can afford tax cuts for those who own private jets, surely we can keep incentives for clean energy."

Generic Congressional Ballot Test:

"If the elections for the U.S. Congress were being held today, are you more likely to vote for the Republican party's candidate or the Democratic party's candidate?"

• Republican candidate: 37.8%
• Democratic candidate: 47.5%
• Democrats hold a +9.7% advantage

Among voters aged 18-29, the GOP is being hammered by 18.5 points — only 32.9% of younger voters opting for the GOP versus 51.4% favoring Democrats.

"As of today, having an 'R' next to your name heading to the 2018 ballot box puts you at a 10-point disadvantage," Noble said.

Party perception on renewable energy:

"When it comes to advancing the use of renewable energy, would you say Republicans or Democrats are more pro-active on the issue?"

Respondents said Democrats are more pro-active on the issue by a staggering 34.4-point margin.

Climate change views:

• 58.8% — world's climate is changing mostly because of human activity
• 25.6% — changing mostly because of natural causes
• 6.5% — climate is not changing

Republicans were split: 41.5% believe human activity is responsible vs. 38.9% natural causes.

Methodology: Nationwide online survey, December 13–16, 2017. Sample size: 1,004 likely 2018 voters, MoE ±3.09%.

Media Contact: Mike Noble, OH Predictive Insights — [email protected], 480-313-1837