Four out of five Manx residents have given their support to onshore wind generation in the island.

The government’s public consultation on the climate change mitigation strategy revealed wide support for many strategies.

The findings of the consultation, which were released on the consultation website with no announcement, showed that 80% of the 1,029 respondents supported onshore wind generation in the island.

And 76% of residents said they would back onshore wind power ’even when the wind turbines are visible from their homes’.

The unsigned introduction to the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture’s consultation said the island ’is faced with an energy trilemma, of balancing energy security, affordability and minimising the impact on the environment’.

In the section of the findings which outlines the opinions of respondents who gave further answers, comments included: ’I’m fully supportive of both onshore and offshore wind generation.’

’I am not adverse to wind turbines on land but there is surely also great scope for wind farms at sea?’

In the consultation DEFA sought the views of the public on:

â?¢ Education

â?¢ Improving energy efficiency in buildings

â?¢ Electrification of the heating and transport sectors

â?¢ Planning for when existing fossil fuel power generation is decommissioned so it will be replaced with low emission and sustainable generation

â?¢ Improving efficiency and sustainability in land use and waste sector.

The survey findings also state that 76% of respondents support phasing out and banning new fossil fuel boilers while 59% support the introduction of a climate change levy on domestic and commercial heating fuels that would be based on the ’carbon intensity of the fuel’.

It was also revealed that while 77% support phasing out the sale of new diesel and petrol cars and that 56% supported an increase in ’new vehicle registration fee for fossil fuel cars’, only 47% of respondents supported an additional road tax for such cars.

Respondents also made their feelings perfectly clear on zero emissions buses with 90% of respondents supporting the move towards carbon neutral public transport. And 79% support a free-for-all bus service ’to reduce traffic congestion’.

The government confirmed yesterday (Wednesday) it will be trialling a hybrid bus over the next fortnight across the island.

A statement said: ’The Mercedes Citaro will be used on a range of routes, with and without passengers, to check its suitability on our roads.’