Geographic proximity to coal plants and U.S. public support for extending the Production Tax Credit

The Production Tax Credit (PTC) is an important policy instrument through which the federal government promotes renewable energy development in the United States. However, the efficacy of the PTC is hampered by repeated expirations and short-term extensions, and by the general uncertainty surrounding its future status. We examine the factors driving variation in public support for the extension of the PTC using a nationally representative, internet-based survey. Americans living near a coal-fired power plant are significantly more likely to support extending the PTC than are their peers who are more insulated from the externalities of burning coal. The evidence for this dynamic was strongest and most statistically significant among subjects experimentally primed to think about the adverse health effects of burning coal. Raising awareness of the public health ramifications of generating electricity from fossil fuels holds the potential to increase support for renewable energy policies among those living in proximity to coal plants, even in a highly politicized policy debate.