Defining and securing sustainable energy is one of humanity’s most pressing challenges. Developing low carbon energy infrastructure has been controversial for various economic, social and environmental reasons. Issues include the relatively high costs compared to fossil fuels, dissatisfaction with who owns and controls the energy infrastructure, visual impacts and harm to habitat. Our research sheds light on the characteristics of renewable energy infrastructure that make its development more socially acceptable. We used a choice experiment to answer: how much are coastal New England residents willing to pay (WTP) above their current utility rates for offshore wind farms that increase marine species abundance and diversity with artificial reefs? We also assess residents' WTP for wind farm ownership type and distance from shore. Our sample includes residents of coastal U.S. New England states—the first region in North America with an operating offshore wind farm.
Results/Conclusions
Results from our mixed logit model shows strong preferences for wind farms that provide high quality artificial reef habitat, particularly among those who score high on the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale, a measure of environmental orientation. Results indicate a WTP that ranges from $17/month for people who score low on NEP to $31/month for people who score high on NEP for wind farms that have large (60%) positive impacts on reef species diversity and abundance rather than small (30%) negative impacts on diversity and abundance. We found a small but significant preference for wind farms that are owned by cooperatives, state or municipalities rather than private companies. People are WTP ~$4/month for a wind farm 4 miles from shore, ~$7/month for 8 miles from shore and ~$10/month for 10 or more miles from shore, rather than a wind farm 1 mile from shore. Our study provides preliminary evidence that integrating biodiversity benefits into the design of renewable energy infrastructure could increase public support for such developments.