Work

Inferring local social cost from renewable zoning decisions. Evidence from Lower Austria’s wind power zoning

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Large infrastructures, such as wind turbines , may adversely affect their environment, so their deployment is often regulated. These regulations are frequently based on a dichotomy between areas considered feasible or infeasible areas for infrastructure deployment. To overcome the inability of such a binary distinction to adequately represent the involved economic trade-offs between, but also within feasible and infeasible areas, we establish a discrete choice framework to elicit social preferences implicit in Lower Austria’s wind power zoning and generate comprehensive estimates of local social costs in high spatial resolution . Our findings suggest that wind turbines were attributed significant local social costs in the political zoning process. These local social cost estimates can inform siting decisions, improve power system modelling and open a novel perspective on the assessment of potentials for renewable energies.

Source: Energy Economics

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2024.107865

Authors: Sebastian Wehrle, Peter Regner, Ulrich B. Morawetz, Johannes Schmidt

Institution: BOKU University

Language: English

Topic: Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Climate action, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,680