80% of UK public surveyed support solar power

The Public Attitudes Tracking survey was carried out 4 times per year, however this is set to change to twice per year, and respondents are made up of a representative group of 2,121 UK households. This year the trend of strong support for renewables in general continued, with 76% expressing support for the use of renewables and only 5% opposing it. You can view our coverage of the previous wave of the survey here.

These results come at a time when the future of the solar industry in the UK is uncertain. The consultation period to discuss potential cuts to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) closed back in October, and the industry eagerly awaits the final decision which should be revealed later this year. The FiT could see cuts of up to 87% and would come into effect from January 2016 in England, Scotland and Wales.

Leonie Greene, Head of External Affairs at the Solar Trade Association commented: "These very high levels of public support for solar show yet again that this sunshine technology is the nation's favourite source of energy. This is also shown by the more than 55,000 responses to the Feed-in Tariff public consultation received by DECC - an unprecedented number showing the widespread outrage at these extreme cuts."

"No other technology empowers consumers and communities to take charge of their energy bill and act on climate change like solar power. By cutting support for solar the government is taking power away from people, organisations and communities all over the UK - and they don't like it one bit."

You can read the findings and other resources surrounding the survey on the gov.uk website.