Energy security and public support for renewable energy : Evidence from the UK

We investigate how different facets of energy security, e.g., energy vulnerability (domestic energy supply, import dependency, technology development on energy sources), energy affordability (higher prices) and energy reliability (power cuts frequency) impact the support for different sources of renewable energy — offshore and onshore wind power, biomass energy and solar power. Our results show that there is a common pattern for energy vulnerability since as concerns decline, the probability of support for each renewable source also declines, but the rate of decline is larger for biomass and onshore wind. Energy imports dependency and affordability reveal a distinction between the wind power sources and the other sources since both offshore and onshore wind power are affected less by energy imports concerns or affordability concerns. Energy reliability is the only facet that leads to a rise in the probability of support for offshore wind. The above results are critical for policy appraisal purposes to inform policymakers on the differences between energy security facets and renewable energy sources when designing future energy policies towards net zero strategies.