Electricity Externalities, Siting, and the Energy Mix: A Survey

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractWhile early literature on electricity externalities was largely concerned with fossil fuel power generation and the associated emissions, nuclear accidents (Chernobyl, Fukushima) and the large-scale deployment of renewable energy facilities have spurred a wave of research on the externalities of nuclear power and renewable energies. The issue is important because many countries have started reconsidering their energy policies, and the externalities from electricity generation play a major role in the benefit-cost analysis of relevant options. This paper reviews the literature on electricity-related externalities. It starts by discussing their nature and the methods employed in valuing them. It finds that appraisals of electricity externalities are complicated because of heterogeneity of both the externalities themselves and the methods applied in measuring them. The paper reviews valuation studies of the externalities from fossil fuel, nuclear and renewable sources, and it discusses the relevance of their findings for the siting of plants and the electricity mix. It concludes by pointing out gaps in our knowledge about electricity externalities that deserve to be addressed in future research.

Accounting for local impacts of photovoltaic farms: The application of two stated preferences approaches to a case-study in Portugal

“…In particular, this study illustrates how the two techniques can be used either autonomously or complementarily, given that they are used to economically value local impacts of solar photovoltaic farms, which do not have a market value, but from two different perspectives. In accordance with the results from the survey by Welsch (2016) and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first stated preference study focusing specifically on the valuation of externalities from solar photovoltaic facilities, in particular using two complementary methods and perspectives.…”

“…Stated preference studies of local externalities from renewable energy sources have so far mostly been applied to wind energy facilities (Welsch, 2016). In the present study we explore local impacts of solar photovoltaic farms using Portugal as a case-study case.…”

Explaining the Social Acceptance of Renewables through Location-Related Factors: An Application to the Portuguese Case

“…However, RES are not environmentally benign [ 18 ], especially for local communities. The installation and operation of electricity generation installations can have non-negligible impacts (e.g., [ 19 , 20 ]) and these vary across energy sources. In terms of broad categories of impacts, studies have documented the negative impact in terms of landscape intrusion, visual pollution, wildlife disruptions and biodiversity effects of windpower (e.g., [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]), hydropower (e.g., [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]) and solar photovoltaic energy (e.g., [ 17 , 27 , 28 ]).…”

“…Often, empirical studies have focused on the relation between physical proximity and opposition to RES [ 32 ]. The fact is that there is empirical evidence that some renewable installations negatively affect reported life satisfaction of local residents [ 20 ] or produce non-negligible monetary valuations of nuisances experienced by locals [ 6 ]. In those cases, we can expect a negative impact on the local support concerning a local RES project and on the generic support for each RES.…”

Compensation for Energy Infrastructures: Can a Capability Approach be More Equitable?

“…The idea that energy infrastructures might cause damage to the population residing in their proximity is well rooted in literature (J. H. Sorensen, J. Sorensen, and Carnes 1984;Eyre 1997;Welsch 2016). These costs are considered negative externalities, which are defined as 'unpriced, unintended and uncompensated side effects of one agent's actions that directly affect the welfare of another agent' (Welsch 2016, 60).…”