The concern remains at a similar level to that surveyed in June 2014 at 48 per cent, and is the lowest since the survey began.
In terms of the mix of generation types which make up the UK’s supply, the survey revealed a strong preference for low carbon generation over the development of the shale industry.
Support has remained consistently high for renewable energy generation at 78 per cent of UK adults, down slightly from 79 per cent and 80 per cent in June and March of this year respectively.
The most popular forms of renewable generation are solar (at 80 per cent), off-shore wind (74 per cent), and wave and tidal (73 per cent) while onshore wind, and biomass lag slightly at 67 per cent and 61 per cent respectively. Support for all renewable energy forms remain at a consistent level to that seen in the last quarterly survey in June, the report said.
However, support for shale gas extraction is lower, at 26 per cent, than it was at the start of this year when it was 29 per cent. But this is at a similar level to that surveyed in June, when it was also 26 per cent.
Almost half of those surveyed (45 per cent) neither support nor oppose shale development, but there has been a slight rise in those who do oppose it, from 24 per cent in June to 27 per cent. This means that opposition outweighs support, although marginally, for the first time.
The survey also showed that support for the nuclear energy has remained fairly stable since the survey began in September 2012. Support is currently at 42 per cent which is the same as it was in March 2014, but up from the slight dip revealed in June when it dropped to 36 per cent.
The DECC Public Attitudes Survey was conducted between 24 and 28 September this year through face-to-face interviews representing a sample of 2,103 UK households. The set of questions monitors changing public attitudes to various elements of the energy sector and is run four times a year since the start of 2012