University Study Suggests Support for Energy Efficiency
MPBN News, March 29, 2015
More than half of Mainers surveyed say they would be willing to pay extra in their electricity bills to support more efficient and/or cleaner fuel development.
The University of Maine study sampled a random group of more than 400 Mainers. Each respondent on the mail-in survey was asked whether they would support energy efficiency efforts. They were also randomly shown one of four renewable energy development scenarios to support: hydroelectric, wind power, tidal power, or deep water offshore wind.
Noblet says the results didn’t vary much by which type of renewable energy the respondent saw. People were willing to accept an average of $6.76 per month on top of their normal power bills, and they said they’d like to see 56% of that fee go toward efficiency programs, with 44% going to investment in the renewable energy source listed on their survey.