  
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September
27, 2012
Contact: Kim Teplitzky, 267-307-4707, kim.teplitzky@sierraclub.org
New York Statewide Survey Results
Long Island Survey Results
New Poll Finds NY Voters Overwhelmingly Support Clean Energy and Willing to Pay More
Results show voters want to transition to renewables over dirty fossil
fuels statewide
Albany, NY – A new poll released today by Public Policy
Partners (PPP) shows than an overwhelming percentage of New York voters favor
clean, renewable energy sources to power the state. The poll comes out just as
the Long Island Power Authority is deciding on new energy contracts that could
include offshore wind, and just after NYISO released their “Reliability
Needs Assessment” report showing New York could safely retire its remaining
coal plants and reliably meet energy needs with clean energy and efficiency.
The telephone poll reached 601 voters statewide and 383 voters on Long Island by
telephone from September 18th-21st.
“The results of this poll are remarkable,” said Lisa
Dix, Senior New York Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club. “We know that
across the nation support for clean energy is high, but here in New York,
nearly 9 out of 10 voters support expanding use of clean energy resources like
wind and solar. New York’s leaders and utilities should take note: New Yorkers want
clean energy.”
According to the poll an overwhelming majority of
voters, nearly 9 out of 10, support expanding the use of clean, renewable
energy like wind and solar power (87% statewide and 90% on Long Island) and the
majority support the state’s utilities investing in new clean energy rather
than building new fossil fuel plants to meet future energy needs (76% statewide
and 78% on Long Island).
Next week the Long Island Power Authority is expected to
announce plans for how to proceed with contracts for future power generation.
The poll showed that the majority of voters statewide and in Long Island would
support an offshore wind farm 12 to 15 miles off the coast of Long Island (82%
statewide and 85% on Long Island). Furthermore, 8 out of 10 Long Islanders would
be willing to pay more for clean energy from offshore wind if it meant
transitioning away from dirty energy sources like coal, natural gas and nuclear
power.
Similarly, the majority of voters (68%) said they would
rather see New York invest in clean energy than provide a bailout for the state’s
aging and uneconomical coal plants.
“On Long Island and throughout New York, we know we can do
better than dirty, polluting power plants. We’re ready to start building the
clean energy economy right here. We need Governor Cuomo and LIPA to listen to Long Island residents and voters and show
actual leadership by choosing clean energy for our homes and businesses,”
said Peter Gollon, volunteer Energy Chair with the Long Island Sierra Club.
Currently, both LIPA and the State of New York are failing
to meet the state’s renewable energy goal of obtaining 30% of its energy from
renewable sources by 2015, even though the poll shows meeting these goals is
important to 84% of voters. Investing in local offshore wind would align with what
voters would like to see; 70% say it is “very important” that the state meets
their renewable energy goals using in-state clean energy projects. New Yorkers clearly
want their state to gain the economic benefits of new energy industries and new
clean energy jobs.
PPP also asked people about fracking, and their results show
that 80% of voters polled are concerned about fracking’s implications for water
quality and a majority (52%) would oppose lifting the current moratorium on
high volume fracking.
“It is clear that New Yorkers want a clean energy future
where our kids will grow up with healthier air to breathe, clean water to drink
and exciting new jobs in the clean tech industry. Now, it’s up to Governor
Cuomo to make that clean energy vision a reality, seize the opportunity to move our state beyond
dirty energy like coal and fracking and make New York a national clean energy
leader that we can be proud of,” said Dix.
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