A house next to a nuclear power plant? For more than half of Poles, this is not a problem (RES survey results)

The Energy Regulatory Office has released findings from a report based on the “Energetyka UREgulowana” survey, which gauges the opinions of energy consumers. One of the key aspects explored in the survey was respondents’ attitudes toward nuclear energy.

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The Energy Regulatory Office (URE) included questions about attitudes toward nuclear energy in their recent survey. Similar to previous surveys, the majority of respondents expressed support for nuclear energy in Poland. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents favored the construction of nuclear power plants in the country. It’s noteworthy that support for this type of energy source appears to be increasing over time. For instance, in a spring survey conducted by IBRIS for PKN Orlen, slightly over half of the respondents were in favor of nuclear power.

Cheap energy from nuclear power plants?

It’s surprising that more than half (54%) of respondents wouldn’t oppose the construction of a nuclear power plant near their place of residence. This level of acceptance is notably higher than the approval rate for wind farms, which was less than 10% more, according to a CBOS survey from earlier this year.

The survey revealed that Poles support the construction of nuclear power plants primarily due to the promise of cheaper energy, with 80% of respondents citing lower electricity prices as the main advantage of this type of energy source. However, most respondents do not want nuclear power plants to be financed from state funds. Only 46% expressed support for state financing of nuclear power plants, compared to 67% for photovoltaics and 66% for wind farms.

The study was conducted using the CAWI online interview method in June of this year, with a sample size of 1,001 people. The full report is available for download on the URE website.