Consumers ok with nuclear power to conserve resources: Accenture

24 March 2009

More than two-thirds of people around the world believe that their countries should start using or increase their use of nuclear power, according to findings of a global survey released today by Accenture.

The survey of more than 10,000 people in 20 countries shows that 29 per cent of respondents support the use or increased use of nuclear power outright, and another 40 per cent say they would support nuclear power if their concerns about were overcome. But in a warning to nuclear generators and policy makers, sentiment has polarised in recent years.

The survey found that, overall, sentiment has swung in favour of nuclear energy, with 29 per cent of respondents saying they are more supportive of their country starting or increasing the use of nuclear power than they were three years ago. However, one in five respondents (19 per cent) said they are less supportive of their country starting or increasing the use of nuclear than they were three years ago.

''Concerns over energy security, volatile fossil-fuel prices and climate change have made nuclear energy more popular with consumers,'' said Sander van 't Noordende, group chief executive of Accenture's Resources operating group. ''But policy makers and generators should not assume that this makes consent easy to achieve or maintain. Government and the energy industry must take note of the continued fragility of popular support for nuclear power.''

Filling the fossil fuel gap with nuclear energy
While the vast majority (88 per cent) of consumers said they believe it is important for their countries to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, slightly more said they believe that renewable energy alone cannot fill the gap left by fossil fuels than said that renewable energy can (43 per cent versus 39 per cent). More than four in 10 consumers (43 per cent) said they see nuclear power as a means to achieve a low-carbon future, with 9 per cent calling for an increase in nuclear energy alone to help reduce fossil fuel dependency and another 34 percent calling for a mix of nuclear and renewable energy.

Consumers demand more information
For respondents who oppose nuclear power generation in their countries, the top three factors for their opposition were concerns over: efficient waste disposal solutions (cited by 91 per cent); the safety of power plant operations (90 per cent); and decommissioning nuclear power plants (80 per cent), respectively. In each case, nearly half (45 per cent) of those who oppose nuclear power said that more information on these three factors would make them change their minds either completely or to some extent.