Wind turbines and coastal recreation demand

Craig Landry, Tom Allen, Todd Cherry and John Whitehead

Resource and Energy Economics, 2012, vol. 34, issue 1, 93-111

Abstract: We examine the impact of coastal wind turbines on local coastal tourism and recreation for residents of the northeastern coastal counties in North Carolina. A combination of telephone and web survey data are used to assess the impact of coastal wind farms on trip behavior and site choice. Most of the respondents to our telephone survey claim to support offshore wind energy development, and independent survey data suggest that the observed levels of support may be indicative of the broader population in this region. Overall, we find very little impact of coastal wind turbines on aggregate recreational visitation; loss in annual consumer surplus associated with wide spread wind development in the coastal zone is insignificant at $17 (or about 1.5% of annual consumer surplus). Results suggest that NC local coastal tourists are averse to wind farms in the near-shore zone; average compensating variation for wind farms one mile from the shore is estimated at $55 per household. On average, we find no evidence of aversion to wind farms 4 miles out in the ocean, or for wind farms located in coastal estuaries. For all wind farm scenarios, we find evidence of preference heterogeneity—some respondents find this appealing while others find it aversive.

Keywords: Coastal; Wind; Turbines; Recreation; Demand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D61 Q26 Q42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (58)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Wind Turbines and Coastal Recreation Demand (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:resene:v:34:y:2012:i:1:p:93-111

DOI: 10.1016/j.reseneeco.2011.10.001

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