Memo: Voters Support the Construction of New Offshore Wind Farms
By Danielle Deiseroth, Ethan Winter, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Marcela Mulholland, and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Executive Summary
Voters support the construction of new offshore wind farms by a 48-point margin
Voters support speeding up the permitting process for building offshore wind farms by a 43-point margin.
Voters support federal investments in research to improve offshore wind technologies by a 34-point margin
Recently, Democrats have unveiled plans to invest in new clean energy infrastructure projects, including new offshore wind farms. The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis report proposes incentives for the construction of new offshore wind farms and for ongoing research in offshore wind technologies. Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, calls for doubling offshore wind energy by the year 2030 in his climate plan. That said, as POLITICO reported in June of this year, offshore wind farms in the Northeast are facing stricter conditions around new construction projects. While offshore wind could play an important role in promoting a clean energy sector and providing good jobs, these projects face strong political headwinds. As our policy memo (Advancing Offshore Wind Energy in the U.S.) co-written with Urban Ocean Lab and Evergreen Action argues, the next presidential administration and Congress need to step in t o kickstart a just, clean energy transition that includes offshore wind.
As part of a July survey, Data for Progress sought to test support among voters regarding the construction of new offshore wind farms, reforms to expedite and expand offshore wind farm construction, and government investments in new offshore wind technologies.
