A survey of 2,000 people has revealed that renewables are the British public’s second favourite investment choice behind property.
The Great British Money Survey carried out by One Poll reveals that 33% of those surveyed said that renewable energy would be their preferred investment area, behind property at 43%. Trailing renewable energy was traditional energy (oil, coal, gas) with 23%.
The results of the survey reflect the growing public acceptance of renewable energy, the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) most recent public attitude tracker shows that three quarters of people (76%) continue to support the use of renewable energy sources to generate the UK’s electricity.
The survey, commissioned by Abundance Generation, identified that Brits value financial return; risk; transparency; environmental and ethical impact when deciding what to invest in. Indeed, 75% said that they would be unhappy if their money was invested in companies that damage the environment or are unethical.
In addition, the survey reveals an increasing appetite for renewable investment from the younger generation, with renewables beating the traditional investment stalwart property amongst 18 to 24 year olds.
Bruce Davis, co-founder and joint managing director of Abundance Generation, said: “These results are really quite ground breaking. We’re now not only seeing majority public support for renewable energy, but people actively wanting to put their money in it too. Britain is a nation in love with property, so it’s no wonder this is at number one, but to see renewables favoured above old energy is a great vote of confidence in the sector.
“We know that from the rapid take up of crowd funded renewables investors are actively looking for inflation beating returns. People would much rather get them through investing in the real economy in assets that they can see, trust and believe in.”
Addressing renewables in particular as an investment class, the survey found that more than half of those surveyed (55%) viewed renewable energy as a medium to low risk investment, with 26% viewing renewables as high risk. Interestingly, 68% of those surveyed said that an 8% return on a renewable investment would be attractive.
The full results of the Great British Money Survey are available here.