Most German citizens living near wind turbines have positive attitudes towards them, according to a Greenpeace Energy survey.
Around 80% of the 1010 respondents to the nationwide study, carried out by Kantar, regard the expansion of wind energy in Germany generally as positive.
This attitude runs across all political voters, even among supporters of parties that have been critical of wind.
“The majority of the population has realised that the energy transition and climate protection are simply not possible without the consistent expansion of wind power,” said Greenpeace Energy board member Sonke Tangermann.
In addition, 79% of all respondents would like to be involved as residents in the planning of wind energy projects, with a similar percentage supporting possibility of obtaining cheap electricity from local wind farms.
In the Kantar study one in three of the 1010 respondents said they live near a wind turbine or wind farm and 86% of respondents said these types of power plants had little or no impact on them.
Tangermann said: “Local wind energy is accepted among people far more than the public debate pretends.
“In the north-west German federal states, which has a high level of wind energy expansion, 98% of respondents said that nearby facilities hardly disturbed them, or did not disturb them at all.”
The survey also shows that there is also a positive attitude to wind power among citizens from more rural areas.
“The assertion by wind power opponents that the vast majority of the rural population is suffering from renewable energy expansion, clearly refute the results,” Tangermann added.