1.  ATTITUDES TOWARDS VARIOUS ENERGY FORMS

Basic attitudes towards various energy forms were measured by asking citizens which way our country's electricity generation should be developed in respect of various energy alternatives. Eight energy sources of electricity generation in current use were assessed. Each of them had to be weighed separately on a seven-tier scale ('increase considerably' - 'phase out completely'). This question has been repeated in a basically comparable form annually since autumn 1983. 

1.1. The present situation

The comparison of percentages of people in favour of increasing or decreasing the use of various energy forms gives a simplified picture of the 'ranking' of these energy forms. Wind power (86% are in favour of an increase and 2% in favour of a decrease) as well as wood and other bioenergy (82%/3%) prove to be by far the most popular forms of energy. Attitudes towards hydropower (66%/4%) are also fairly positive [Figure 1.].

Peat (46%/16%) and natural gas (43%/15%) form a group of energy forms that are 'favoured with reservations'. The respondents wanted both energy forms to be increased rather than decreased, but opinions are already indicating some polarisation. 

Nuclear power, on the other hand, is a somewhat stronger divider of opinions. This time, two out of five (40%) of the respondents supported its increase and about one in four of respondents favoured its decrease (26%). Attitudes towards coal and oil are clearly the most negative. More than half of respondents (63% and 52%) would like to decrease their use.

The fact that so-called alternative energy beats conventional production methods is not surprising as such; similar results have been obtained in various contexts for twenty years. However, the share of the present use of energy forms under review should be taken into account in the interpretation. In the current production reality, some are in the 'heavy league' and others are mainly challengers aiming to plan a supplementing role. Therefore, 'considerable increase of use' takes on a different meaning in respect of various energy forms. For example, if the production of wind power were to be increased tenfold, it would achieve a share of about one per cent of all electricity produced; however, with some other alternative a smaller increase in capacity would put it in a dominant position. 

Taking the intensity of opinions into account (response categories have been combined in the above) it can be said that coal power has the most absolute opposition of all the alternatives. About one in eight respondents (13%) would like to reject coal altogether. The second highest figure (11%) was given to nuclear power. This information - the low level of the figures - indicates that, despite the shown criticism, people want to keep the diversity of the production structure, and the phase-out of nuclear power has only few supporters in Finland, from the international viewpoint. Although the difference between nuclear power and coal is small, it is worth noticing in the respect that this is the first time during the long follow-up period that the position of the 'most dreadful one' is given to coal (not in the figure).