Poll: 71 percent in U.S. support nuclear power

At the same time, the poll shows broad public support for a proposal floated by Obama to get large amounts of the country’s electricity from low-carbon sources. The poll finds that 89 percent of Americans think, “We should take advantage of all low-carbon energy sources, including nuclear, hydro and renewable energy, to produce the electricity we need while limiting greenhouse gas emissions.”

Obama laid out a proposal in last month’s State of the Union address to get 80 percent of the country’s electricity from low-carbon sources like nuclear, wind, solar and natural gas by 2035. Obama is working closely with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) to hash out the details of the proposal.

Meanwhile, 79 percent of Americans say they support the government providing loan guarantees for a range of low-carbon energy technologies like nuclear, wind and solar.

Obama’s 2012 budget request calls for adding $36 billion in loan guarantee authority for nuclear power plants. The proposal is already coming under fire from anti-nuclear activists, who argue that nuclear power plants are far too expensive to receive government support.