Public acceptance of CCS system elements: A conjoint measurement

The aim of the present study is to examine public preferences regarding the characteristics of the three elements of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS): capture, pipeline, and storage. A random sample of 139 Swiss citizens received basic information about CCS online and then participated in an experiment. A conjoint measurement of CCS acceptance and analysis of variance was used to examine respondents’ preferences for characteristics of CCS elements. This approach allowed respondents to make trade-offs by expressing preferences for complete CCS systems instead of evaluating single elements in isolation. Our results show that people put most emphasis on pipelines near their homes and on the type of plant the CO2 originates from. A “Not in my backyard (NIMBY) effect” was found both for pipelines and storage. This NIMBY effect, however, disappears when CO2 from a biogas-fired plant is used for the injection. We conclude that it may be possible to avoid the NIMBY effect for geological storage field trials by using bioenergy with carbon dioxide capture and storage (BECCS).

► Transport of CO2 may cause more public opposition than storage.
► BECCS may reduce not in my backyard effects for storage field trials.
► Reference information may help laypeople to express acceptance of CCS elements.