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Most Americans don’t understand the risks of renewable energy or view traditional energy sources like oil and gas as essential to their livelihoods, a new poll found, as a Republican trifecta in Washington prepares to pass an extensive energy agenda early next year.
As many as 57% of US voters are not aware that the “United States is at an elevated risk of energy shortfalls,” compared to 43% who were well privy to elevated risks of energy shortages, according to a poll from the American Energy Institute exclusively shared with The Post.
About two-thirds of US grids have been vulnerable to energy shortfalls in the past, per data from the US Energy Administration Agency, and the institute has noted that “regions with higher reliance on renewable energy are at an even higher risk.”
Meanwhile, only 41% of US voters were aware that fossil fuels can be used to preserve baked goods, 46% were aware they can be used to formulate medicines like Aspirin and 49% knew that they can help create ammonia for fertilizers.
Other common fossil fuel uses such as plastic production (60%) and concrete (63%) were more widely known.
The registered voters perceived the most valuable uses of fossil fuels to be gas for heating homes (60%), gasoline (50%), electricity for cooling (49%), concrete (34%), plastics in medical devices (30%) and ammonia used for fertilizers (27%).
“If the new Congress and administration hope to see a return on political capital, they need to remind voters that traditional energy sources are a bulwark of prosperity and comfort,” American Energy Institute president Jason Isaac argued based on that data.
The American Energy Institute, which represents clients in the fossil fuel industry, also found a plurality of the public generally favored green energy sources.
Support for expanding green energy sources like solar panels, windmills and hydrogen production (48%) narrowly edged out support for boosting the production of more oil, coal and natural gas among registered voters, the poll found.
Just 43% support the exploration and production of oil, coal and natural gas, while 8% were undecided.
As with many pressing issues, respondents’ answers broke down along party lines, with self-identified Democrats preferring renewables 64% to 27% who backed fossil fuels and Republicans backing fossil fuels 63% to 30%, according to the poll.
Independents leaned toward renewables 48% to 43%.
Throughout his 2024 campaign, President-elect Donald Trump, 78, pledged to bring back the “drill baby drill” mindset to the White House.
Republicans in Congress have mulled prioritizing legislation on energy, the border and defense, likely packaged into one bill that could land on Trump’s desk within his first month.
Details of that plan are fairly sparse, but last year, the GOP-controlled House passed the Lower Energy Costs Act, which revamped the permitting process to bolster oil and gas output.
“We should be producing and exporting that energy here from and in the United States because we produce it more responsibly than anywhere else on the planet,” Isaac contended to The Post.
“I hope there is some significant permitting reform that helps … building more nuclear in this country,” he added. “The burden should be on the government to prove the environmental impacts, not on the companies that are applying for permits.”
The survey sampled 1,600 registered voters between Nov. 21–25 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.45% percentage points.
Men comprised 48% of the responses compared to 52% of women, while Republicans made up 31%, Democrats 36% and Independents 33%.
