Poll: Wind Favored Over Offshore Drilling

July 3, 2019 | Local News | From The: Coastal Review

More than 60% of those surveyed in the Outer Banks area want offshore wind development. Photo: File

A poll by a Raleigh-based firm on behalf of a business group here finds that more than half of those in the state’s 3rd Congressional District who responded believe offshore drilling is too risky.

In addition to finding that 52.8% of those surveyed say offshore drilling is too risky, 62.8% want the government to reduce regulation in order to allow for more offshore wind development, according to a news release from the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce.

“As the lead advocate for our coastal economy, the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce isn’t surprised that so many residents share our concerns about the devastating impacts offshore drilling could have on our economy,” Karen Brown, President and CEO of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.

The poll of 400 likely general election voters, on behalf of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, Environment North Carolina and the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, was conducted by Strategic Partners Solutions. The survey took place the nights of May 18-19 and has a margin of error of 4.9%.

“North Carolinians clearly prefer clean, safe energy from offshore wind power,” said Kayla Calkin, federal campaigns manager for the NRDC Action Fund. “They expect their elected representatives to fight for them and protect the state’s coast from dirty and dangerous offshore drilling.”

There were also concerns about global warming, with 62% saying that global warming is a serious problem compared to 36.8% who said it was not, according to the poll memo.

“Offshore drilling and seismic testing is a dangerous and dirty business. When compared with safe, renewable wind power it’s clear that people see the potential of clean energy while also recognizing that drilling is just too risky for our coast and our climate,” Drew Ball, Director of Environment North Carolina, said in a statement.

The 3rd District includes all or parts of Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, Tyrrell, Dare, Hyde, Beaufort, Pamlico, Carteret, Pitt, Craven, Onslow, Jones, Lenoir and Greene counties.