PREFERENCES OVER, AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR, RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

This study explores preferences over various electricity generation technologies and willingness to pay (WTP) for increased generation from renewable energy among residents in the U.S state of Pennsylvania. Survey respondents ranked solar, wind, hydropower, and improved efficiency highest among generation technologies, and coal lowest. Electricity generation from biomass was ranked lower than other renewable sources. WTP for an increase in renewable electricity production was measured using choice experiment valuation questions. On average, a rural (urban) household in Pennsylvania is willing to pay $1.65 ($4.07) per month to increase the share of electricity generated from solar power by 1 percentage point, $3.26 ($5.03) to increase wind power, and $3.67 ($4.94) to increase electricity production from other, unspecified renewable sources. Mean WTP to increase electricity generation from biomass combustion was negative but not significantly different from zero. There is important heterogeneity in WTP for renewable energy that is related to variation in attitudes toward the environment, attitudes toward energy policy, and concern over cost. WTP for solar power varies the most across the population, while WTP for electricity from biomass combustion shows the least variation.