Utah residents' attitudes toward renewable energy facilities

The purpose of this thesis was to look at attitudes toward renewable energy facilities in the state of Utah. The data used in this study were collected through a statewide, stratified random sample survey measuring respondents' attitudes toward renewable energy facilities, preference for siting distance, and social and demographic information. Several quantitative tests were conducted on the variables used to illustrate the following: details of what the survey population looks like, how each of the independent variables is related to the dependent variables, and the combined explanatory power of all of the independent variables on the dependent variables.;The primary analytic goals of the study were to better understand Utah residents' attitudes toward renewable energy, and to better understand the variation in willingness to have utility-scale wind or solar facilities built in close proximity to their place of residence. A secondary purpose of the study was to begin to provide the information needed to identify candidate areas for renewable energy development based not only on the richness of the resource, but also the level of social acceptability by residents of the region. By better understanding Utah residents' attitudes toward renewable energy and variance in willingness to have these facilities built in close proximity, we come closer to achieving these purposes.