Vast majority of Germans continue to support renewables roll-out – survey

The vast majority (80%) of people in Germany support the country's ongoing transition to renewable energy, a survey commissioned by the German Renewable Energy Agency (AEE) found. Compared to survey results from the previous year, the share of respondents who thought the expansion of renewables was "extremely important" was down by one percentage point to 54 percent, and the number who said it was "important" remained at 26 percent.

The AEE said that with headlines dominated by political upheaval, the relative importance of climate issues compared to other concerns has fallen among the German public – yet a vast majority remained onboard with the transition. "It is remarkable that public support for renewables is still very high, defying economic and political crises," AEE managing director Robert Brandt said in a press release.

People in direct vicinity of new renewable infrastructure were particularly supportive of the transition. Overall, 57 percent of respondents would welcome a renewable energy plant being built in their area to supply the neighbourhood with energy, while 86 percent of people in Germany already living in an area hosting renewable power facilities viewed the development positively.

A separate survey commissioned by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) found that people in Germany favour the use of renewables over nuclear or fossil fuels as the energy source "to make Germany less dependent on energy imports". The forsa Society for Social Research and Statistical Analyses, which carried out the survey, found that 76 percent of respondents were in favour of greater use of solar power, 70 percent for wind power, and 66 percent were in favour of using more hydrogen from renewable power. Twenty-nine percent supported the use of nuclear power to increase independence, and support for fossil fuels was still lower, with 13 percent in favour of expanded use of gas and 5 percent for coal.