Bexar County residents support the use of nuclear energy, according to a new survey by the Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
The center recently conducted a pilot Bexar County Omnibus Survey, giving researchers and organizations insights from thousands of local residents who are on the center’s county panel.
One of the standout findings was the strong support for nuclear energy, with 65% of residents in favor, notably higher than the national average of 59-61%. The survey showed 17% expressed opposition, with safety being the most common concern.
These results mirror national policy trends and reflect a growing momentum behind nuclear energy expansion.
“We found remarkable alignment between the Trump administration’s nuclear renaissance strategy and public sentiment both nationally and locally,” said Chris Reddick, professor of public administration in the College for Health, Community and Policy at UT San Antonio. “This convergence of favorable public opinion, technological readiness and political will creates what may be unprecedented conditions for American nuclear expansion since the 1970s.”
Fostering research and collaboration
Among the groups submitting questions for the survey was the university’s CONsortium on Nuclear sECurity Technologies (CONNECT), a program that seeks to establish career pathways between the U.S. Department of Energy and students at minority-serving institutions majoring in STEM fields such as physics, engineering and computer science.
The mission of CONNECT is to foster interdisciplinary research, collaboration and professional networks within the field of nuclear security.
In 2022, renewed funding from the National Nuclear Security Administration expanded CONNECT to foster new collaborations between UT San Antonio faculty in science and engineering and those in global affairs and public administration.
“In addition to the cross-disciplinary mentoring and training, we’ve become really excited about the advancement of nuclear energy from not just the technical aspects but also the policy advancements and public engagement side,” said Elizabeth Sooby, project director of CONNECT and associate dean for research in the College of Sciences.
Sooby saw the Bexar County Omnibus Survey as an opportunity to gain new insight into the local community’s perspective on nuclear energy expansion and worked with CPOR to include four questions related to nuclear energy on the survey.
Regional attitudes and needs
One of the goals with the Bexar County Panel and our Omnibus Survey is to facilitate research at UT San Antonio and generate insights into the attitudes and needs of the San Antonio metropolitan region, said Bryan Gervais, director of CPOR and associate professor of political science and geography.
“We were very happy to work with Dr. Sooby and her team on this project — and I think their work highlights the range of projects that can benefit from our panel,” Gervais said. “By providing high-quality samples, we hope to keep more resources here at [the university] rather than going to external, commercial companies who charge a lot more.”
The nuclear energy questions included in the survey asked respondents what level they believe nuclear energy should contribute to the U.S. electricity supply, about their personal view of nuclear energy, concerns about nuclear energy, and what their level of understanding is toward nuclear energy.
“These questions were designed to capture both the level of public support for nuclear energy and the concerns influencing people’s views,” said Jesus Facundo, a doctoral student in physics who wrote the survey questions. “Nuclear energy is playing a growing role in national conversations about climate change and energy security, and it’s important to understand how our community sees the issue so we can connect those broader discussions to local priorities.”
Sooby said that the community’s response aligns with, and will continue to shape, the research happening at UT San Antonio, reinforcing how the university’s discovery enterprise is serving the interests and concerns of the region.
“These questions are just the tip of the iceberg and it’s exciting to see that our local community is interested in nuclear energy while cautiously concerned about all the things we are tackling in our research efforts here [with regard to] the safety and security of these empowering technologies,” Sooby said.
