The Amenity Costs of Offshore Wind Farms: Evidence From a Choice Experiment
Sanja Lutzeyer, Daniel J. Phaneuf and Laura O. Taylor|August 20, 2017
According to this newest study by researchers at North Carolina State University, an offshore wind farm erected off the coast of North Carolina would reduce coastal rentals and potentially harm tourism, even if the energy project were placed at a maximum distance from shore. The results of the study found 54 percent of survey participants would not be willing to rent a home if the turbines were visible at all, regardless of their distance from the coast. The abstract of the report is provided below. The full report can be accessed by clicking the links on this page.
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According to this newest study by researchers at North Carolina State University, an offshore wind farm erected off the coast of North Carolina would reduce coastal rentals and potentially harm tourism, even if the energy project were placed at a maximum distance from shore. The results of the study found 54 percent of survey participants would not be willing to rent a home if the turbines were visible at all, regardless of their distance from the coast. The abstract of the report is provided below. The full report can be accessed by clicking the links on this page.
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ABSTRACT
We conduct a choice-experiment with individuals that recently rented a vacation property along the North Carolina coastline to assess the impacts of a utility-scale wind farm on their rental decisions. Visualizations were presented to survey respondents that varied both the number of turbines and their proximity to shore. Results indicate that there is not a scenario for which respondents would be willing to pay more to rent a home with turbines in view, as compared to the baseline view with no turbines in sight. Further, there is a substantial portion of the survey population that would change their vacation destination if wind farms were placed within visual range of the beach. The rental discounts required to attract the segment of the survey population most amenable to viewing wind farms still indicate that rental value losses of up to ten percent are possible if a utility-scale wind farm is placed within 8 miles of shore.
