Three-quarters of the British public are aware of at least one renewable energy source: hydroelectric, wind, wave and solar power, but only one in five could name one without prompting, according to research published recently.

A survey, backed by the Department of Trade and Industry, the Scottish executive and the Welsh assembly found that 17% of a sample of 1,279 Britons thought renewable energy involved recycling, and another 17% thought it was "energy you can use again".

About 12% defined it as something "always there" or "sustainable". Only 19% could spontaneously name at least one type of renewable energy.

Only around one person in 20 spontaneously used the term "renewable energy" at all. The study also found that 60% could name onshore wind turbines as a source of such power, 35% knew about hydroelectricity, 34% mentioned offshore wind farms and 29% solar panels. People over 65 or people between 16 and 24 were less likely than average to name a form of renewable energy unprompted.