Majority of Arizona voters support renewable energy investment, poll finds
Jul 24, 2018, 4:43 AM
(AP Photo/Matt York)
PHOENIX — A new poll found that there was wide support among Arizona voters for renewable energy.
The poll by the Center for Western Priorities surveyed 500 Arizona voters and found the majority support investing in the development of renewable energy sources, especially solar.
“Seventy-five percent of Arizona voters said that we should prioritize solar as an energy source over the next 10 years,” said Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities.
Rokala said Arizona voters also place a high priority on protecting the state’s public lands and “see the outdoor recreation economy as important to the future of Arizona.”
According to the poll, 77 percent of Arizona voters believe the state’s public lands and outdoor recreation are important to attract good jobs and innovative companies to the state.
Most Arizona voters also want to protect the Grand Canyon from uranium mining. Sixty-three percent said they oppose getting rid of uranium mining restrictions near the Grand Canyon.
The poll findings come as Arizona voters will head to the polls in November to vote on a ballot initiative that would require utilities to get 50 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2030. Currently, the state standard is 15 percent by 2025.
The poll was conducted as part of the Winning the West 2018 campaign, which looks at how issues involving public lands, parks and wildlife play a role in moving voters from western states to the polls and influence the candidates they choose. Voters in Colorado, Montana, Nevada and New Mexico were also surveyed.
“Voters in these states tell us they love living in the West because of the outdoors and access to public lands, and they want candidates who care about conservation,” Rokala said. “They also overwhelmingly reject efforts to drill and mine recklessly in public lands or shrink in popular national monuments.”