As the debate continues over potential government action to prevent further retirements of coal and nuclear power plants, a new poll conducted by Morning Consult for the National Mining Association (NMA) found that most Americans — 55% — believe the U.S. government should support coal and nuclear power plants, given their ability to provide electricity 24/7, and their utilization of fuel that can be stored on-site in the event of an emergency. On the other side, 20% of voters oppose action to support coal and nuclear and 24% had no opinion or did not know, the NMA said.
“Americans value reliability and, when it comes to keeping the lights on, they want to preserve all of our options,” said Hal Quinn, NMA president and CEO. “We shouldn’t be faced with a false choice of either/or when it comes to the fuels that power our grid. Reliability and resiliency depend on fuel diversity.”
The poll also found that 73% of Americans still believe in an all-of-the-above energy strategy, that includes coal, natural gas, nuclear power and renewables.
The poll was conducted from June 7-11 of 2,201 adults nationwide carrying a margin of error of +/- 2%.
