Poll: 61% of Americans Clueless about Biomass Energy

[Take a look at the Har­ris Poll here. — Ed.]

- by Erin Voegele, March 28, 2014. Source: Bio­mass Magazine

A recent­ly released Har­ris Poll address­es pub­lic per­cep­tion of a vari­ety of ener­gy tech­nolo­gies, includ­ing bio­mass ener­gy. The results show that many U.S. adults are unfa­mil­iar with bio­mass ener­gy and its benefits.

With­in its results, the com­pa­ny called bio­mass the “biggest ques­tion mark” on the sur­vey, as 61 per­cent of adults sur­veyed said they were not at all sure of its risks or ben­e­fits. Approx­i­mate­ly 29 per­cent, how­ev­er, said they feel the ben­e­fits of bio­mass out­weigh its risks. Only 9 per­cent of those polled said they believe the risks of bio­mass out­weigh its benefits.

Infor­ma­tion released on the poll also includ­ed his­tor­i­cal data gath­ered in 2012, 2011 and 2009. That data shows pub­lic per­cep­tions of bio­mass have remained large­ly unchanged in recent years. Between 57 and 60 per­cent of respon­dents in 2012, 2011 and 2009 indi­cat­ed they were unsure of the risks or ben­e­fits asso­ci­at­ed with bio­mass. Dur­ing those same years, between 28 and 30 per­cent said they feel the ben­e­fits out­weigh the risks. In all three years, 12 per­cent also indi­cat­ed they though the risks of bio­mass out­weigh its benefits.

On a region­al basis, 35 per­cent of respon­dents from the West region of the U.S. said the ben­e­fits of bio­mass out­weigh its risks, along with 33 per­cent of those from the Mid­west. In the East and South regions of the coun­try, only 25 per­cent and 26 per­cent respec­tive­ly indi­cat­ed they believe the ben­e­fits of bio­mass out­weigh the risks.

When the gen­er­a­tion of the respon­dent was tak­en into account, 32 per­cent of those in Gen X (ages 37 to 48) said the ben­e­fits of bio­mass out­weigh the risks, along with 31 per­cent of Echo Boomers (ages 18–36). Only 29 per­cent of Baby Boomers (ages 49–67) and 22 per­cent of Matures (ages 68+) said the same.

The Har­ris Poll also mea­sured pub­lic per­cep­tion of solar, wind, nat­ur­al gas, geot­her­mal, coal, and nuclear ener­gy. Accord­ing to the com­pa­ny, 2,266 adults were sur­veyed online between Feb. 12 and Feb. 17. A full copy of the results issued by Har­ris Inter­ac­tive is avail­able here.