New Poll: 81% of state, 61% of Cape favor Cape Wind

New survey shows strong majority of Cape and islands' residents support Nantucket Sound project

By Jack Coleman, capecodtoday correspondent

The results of a new survey released today leave little doubt as to public support for Cape Wind - it is overwhelming.

More than four out of five people across the state - 81 percent - and 61 percent of Cape and islands' residents are in favor of Cape Wind's proposal to build the nation's first offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound.

The survey was conducted by the Civil Society Institute, a Newton-based non-profit and non-partisan think tank. The institute has conducted a half-dozen surveys since 2003 on global warming, renewable energy and fuel efficiency standards.

A detailed analysis of the survey and news release are available at the society's website.

The May 25-28 survey found that 90 percent of Bay State residents want Massachusetts to be "a national leader in using cleaner and renewable energy on a large scale by moving ahead with offshore wind power and other alternative-energy initiatives."

90% of Bay State residents want Massachusetts to be "a national leader in using cleaner and renewable energy on a large scale by moving ahead with offshore wind power and other alternative-energy initiatives."

The survey also found that just over a third - 36 percent - of Cape and island residents oppose Cape Wind, while 88 percent of those living on Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard believe it is important that "Massachusetts and other states take steps such as the development of clean alternative energy resouces -- including offshore wind power -- in order to help reduce global warming and our addiction to foreign energy sources."

Clean Power Now Executive Director Matt Palmer pointed out that each successive opinion survey on Cape Wind appears to show a stronger level of public support for Cape Wind, both statewide and on the Cape and islands.

"It validates what we've been saying all along, which is the more that people learn about Cape Wind, the more that people support it," Palmer said. "Our political leaders need to recognize that the citizens of this commonwealth want Massachusetts to be the leader in the renewable energy revolution."

Poll-takers urge Romny, Kennedy and Kerry to read results

Responding to the results of the survey, Institute President Pam Solo said "I would encourage Gov. Romney, Senator Kennedy, Senator Kerry and the rest of the Mass. congressional delegation to look at these survey findings very closely.

"The notion that wind power and the other alternative energy sources are dividing lines in Massachusetts either in terms of politics or region, or both, is plainly mistaken and counterproductive for our state and for the nation," Solo said.

"What we see in this survey is a clear example of the people 'leading the leaders' "
- Pam Solo

"What we see in this survey is a clear example of the people 'leading the leaders,' " Solo said. "Massachusetts residents want action now on clean, safe renewable energy sources, including Cape Wind and other alternative energy projects. They want the state to get out in front as a true national leader solving our foreign oil dependence and the threat posed by global warming."

About the survey - twice needed number from Cape & Islands polled

The survey consisted of telephone interviews with 600 Bay State residents, equally spilt by gender, on May 25-28. Of that 600-person sample, 9 percent lived on the Cape and islands, which comes to 54 people. The survey has a 4 percentage points margin of error, according to CSI.

The results also showed that political allegiances play little if any role in determining support for Cape Wind. Across the state as a whole, 88 percent of those identifying themselves as liberals are in favor of Cape Wind, compared to 83 percent for conservatives and 81 percent for independents.

Supporters were;
Conservatives 83%
Liberals 88%
Independents 81%

Just over third - 36 percent - of Bay State residents described themselves as political independents, compared to 26 percent conservative, 20 percent liberal and 14 percent "not political."

The 600-person sampling is representative of many opinion surveys, as is its margin of error. While 9 percent of those interviewed said they live on the Cape and islands, as a percentage this is double the percentage for the region's share of the state's population. Roughly 250,000 of the state's 6.1 million residents live on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, or 4 percent.

The survey results were released just one day after Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens formally withdrew his proposal to give unilateral veto power over Cape Wind to the governor of Massachusetts. Stevens prefers that such authority be given to the commandant of the Coast Guard in a funding bill that has yet to be approved in Congress.

Indications out of Washington are that the House and Senate could move forward on the Coast Guard bill with a possible resolution of differences over Cape Wind when they return next week.

US Dept. of Energy and wind industry plan 20% of energy from wind

Also on Tuesday, officials with the US Department of Energy and wind industry entrepreneurs said they will collaborate on an "action plan" aimed at "vastly increasing the amount of wind-generated electricity in the United States," according to a story published yesterday by the Greenwire news service.

"The effort - announced at a major wind energy conference in Pittsburgh - will seek input from environmentalists, utilities, policymakers, investors and others, according to the American Wind Energy Association," the story states.

The goal is to increase wind power's share of US electricity generation to 20 percent from its current level of less than half of 1 percent. AWEA expects 2006 to be a record year for new installed capacity.

Streaming audio of a media conference call held at 11 a.m. today is available at the CSI website here.

Jack Coleman is a former political reporter at the Cape Cod Times who blogs in support of Cape Wind at wind farmer's almanac. He also works as media adviser to Clean Power Now.