Oregon Public Broadcasting

Northwesterners are bullish on alternative sources of energy like wind and solar power. But they're not necessarily willing to pay the higher costs of using those forms of energy. Those are some of the findings in a new public radio survey.

It's been a cool spring here in Salem, but the attic in Carol Hulse's 1960's ranch-style house is sweltering nonetheless.

Hulse is getting a free overview of her home's energy efficiency by Octavio Cuesta. He's with Energy Trust of Oregon. It's his job to check out things like windows, light bulbs, shower heads....

[image: 3:left]Octavio Cuesta: "The floor insulation, you have some. It's damaged. Some, probably cats or some type of rodents went under there."

Afterwards, Hulse tells me she knows exactly what she needs to do first.

Carol Hulse: "Take care of the attic insulation, and fix the ducts. And I don't mean quack."

Hulse reflects the views of people across the region when she says reducing her carbon footprint has multiple benefits.

Carol Hulse: "You wanna do what's right. You want to conserve as much as you can, the energy that we're given. But selfishly we also want to save money."

[image: 4:right]Home energy reviews are becoming more popular. Energy Trust of Oregon did more than 9,000 of them last year. That was a 43 percent increase over the year before. Northwesterners aren't just big on saving energy at home.

A new public radio poll shows broad support for expanding the portfolio of the region's energy sources. The survey is a collaboration of the Northwest Health Foundation, the polling firm Davis, Hibbitts and Midghall and Northwest public radio stations. Newberg retiree Danny Goode was one of many in our survey who's keen on alternative energy.

Danny Goode: "Anything that we can do, especially with our economy the way it is nowadays and our dependency on everybody else for everything, we need to do everything we can to find all the energy we can in our own country."

Chris Lehman / Northwest News Network

Octavio Cuesta prepares to inspect Carol Hulse's attic for insulation.

Across the region in Spokane, Avista says only one percent of its customers participate. In western Washington, about two-and-a-half percent of electric customers have signed up. Pollster Adam Davis says the reluctance to ante up for green energy could be a sign of the times.

Adam Davis: "People just are really hurting right now and if they've got to pay more for utilities, this is something that a lot of households simply cannot do."

But it's not just the cost that keeps some people from signing up. Bob Dubay of Wilsonville, Oregon was part of the vast majority in our survey who don't pay for renewable energy on their power bills. Dubay says he's just not sure the extra money would actually go to developing wind and solar power.

Bob Dubay: "Are they using that money wisely, and is it targeted to a specific cause. Half the time it's collected and it goes out the back door."

Chris Lehman / Northwest News Network

Carol Hulse and Octavio Cuesta review Cuesta's recommendations for how she can reduce her home's energy use.

Only slightly more support it than oppose it.

As for hydroelectric dams, people are generally very supportive. In fact, nearly two-thirds of northwesterners oppose removing dams, especially if it means their electric bills would go up.