Does noticing energy infrastructure influence public support for energy development? Evidence from a national survey in Canada

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A gap exists in cross-technology and large-scale research about public support for energy infrastructure, particularly the influence of exposure on attitudes. We used a national panel sample of Canadians to explore drivers of support across ten energy technologies, comparing predictors such as exposure, political views, environmental values and sectoral employment with controls for demographics and geography. Exposure to a specific infrastructure was associated with support for four technologies, only one of which was renewable (solar); the others were nuclear, oil from non-tar sand sources and coal, the last of which had the strongest effect with exposure doubling the likelihood of support. However, noticing any infrastructure at all boosted support for all renewable technologies included as well as natural gas, increasing the likelihood of support for key renewables (wind, hydroelectricity, and solar) by 61–76%. Beyond the importance of noticing infrastructure, our results demonstrate that energy technology support follows relatively predictable lines in Canada, save for a general lack of urban–rural divide in attitudes. Results suggest that hiding energy infrastructure may be a barrier to renewable energy transitions, but first we need: more nuanced measurements of exposure and noticing, to understand the direction of causality between such variables and support; and, to explore the roles of energy literacy and gender.