Three in five Icelanders support Hvammsvirkjun. Last month, Landsvirkjun was granted a provisional permit to carry out preparatory work for the project.
Three times as many people support Hvammsvirkjun as oppose it, according to a new Maskína opinion poll. Fifty-nine percent say they support the project, 19 percent are neutral (neither for nor against), and 21 percent are opposed.
Looking only at those with the strongest views, 35 percent say they are strongly in favour, while 10 percent are strongly opposed.
Do you support or oppose Hvammsvirkjun?
Maskína opinion poll, 18–21 August
Last month, the Environment and Energy Agency granted Landsvirkjun a provisional development permit for preparatory works on the Hvammsvirkjun project. The agency did so a month after the Environmental and Natural Resources Appeals Committee upheld a request from landowners and farm tenants along the banks of the Þjórsá River and halted work on the project.
Views vary sharply across groups. Among men, 71 percent support Hvammsvirkjun, compared with 40 percent of women. Opposition is also much higher among women: 32 percent are against the project, versus 21 percent of men.
Support is strongest among those under 30 and over 50. It rises with income, and is highest among residents of West Iceland and the Westfjords, while support is lowest among Reykjavík residents.
Looking at political affiliation, supporters of the opposition parties are markedly the most favorable toward Hvammsvirkjun: 81–86 percent support the project. Two out of three voters for Viðreisn (the Reform Party) back it, just under half of Social Democratic Alliance voters do, and only about one in three voters for the People’s Party.
Support is lowest among the Socialists (6 percent), the Pirate Party (11 percent) and the Left-Green Movement (23 percent).
Source: Ruv.is
