section_path: Politics/Public opinion
section_name: Public opinion
paragraph_text: Public opinion
  
  Surveys of public attitudes across Europe and in many other countries show strong public support for wind power. Bakker et al. (2012) found in their study that residents who did not want turbines built near them suffered significantly more stress than those who "benefited economically from wind turbines".
  
  Although wind power is a popular form of energy generation, onshore or near offshore wind farms are sometimes opposed for their impact on the landscape (especially scenic areas, heritage areas and archaeological landscapes), as well as noise, and impact on tourism.
  
  In other cases, there is direct community ownership of wind farms. The hundreds of thousands of people who have become involved in Germany's small and medium-sized wind farms demonstrate such support there.
  
  A 2010 Harris Poll found strong support for wind power in Germany, other European countries, and the United States.
  
  Public support in the United States has decreased from 75% in 2020 to 62% in 2021, with the Democratic Party supporting the use of wind energy twice as much as the Republican Party. President Biden has signed an executive order to begin building large scale wind farms.
  
  In China, Shen et al. (2019) found that Chinese city-dwellers may be resistant to building wind turbines in urban areas, with a surprisingly high proportion of people citing an unfounded fear of radiation as driving their concerns. Also, the study finds that like their counterparts in OECD countries, urban Chinese respondents are sensitive to direct costs and wildlife externalities. Distributing relevant information about turbines to the public may alleviate resistance.