Wind farms - Where and how to place them? A choice experiment approach to measure consumer preferences for characteristics of wind farm establishments in Sweden

This paper explores preferences among the general public in Sweden for attributes related to the establishment of wind power farms. The method applied is a choice experiment where people are asked to choose between two hypothetical wind farms characterized by different attributes. Five attributes are included in the experiment: (i) type of landscape, (ii) type of ownership, (iii) the degree of local participation in the planning process, (iv) the choice to transfer revenue to the society in a pre-specified way, and (v) a monetary cost in terms of an additional electricity certificate fee. The data are analyzed with multinomial logit, random parameter logit, and latent class models. The results indicate that consumers in Sweden are more likely to accept the higher renewable electricity certificate fee if: (a) wind power farms in areas used for recreational purposes are substantially avoided, (b) the establishment is anchored by whole or partial ownership in the local community and, (c) the locals are involved in the planning and implementation process. Our policy simulation exercise shows that respondents are willing to pay a higher electricity fee corresponding to about 0.6 Euro cents per kWh to avoid wind farms located in the mountainous area and private ownership.