PREFERENCE FOR AND IMPACTS OF DIFFERENT UTILITY-SCALE ENERGY SITING DECISIONS FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATORS IN COASTAL REGIONS

Abstract

Both site selection and fuel choice decisions for utility-scale generators have important ramifications for the surrounding community. This is especially true in coastal regions, where land is often scarce due to high population densities. This study explores different aspects of site selection and fuel choice for large utility-scale energy generators in three different papers. Chapter 1 explores the public's preference for utility-scale solar energy siting in Rhode Island based on four current land types: agricultural, brownfield, commercial, and forest land. This chapter uses a discrete choice experiment survey to help evaluate how program attributes affect respondent preferences for large utility-scale solar energy siting in Rhode Island. Public's willingness to pay for a large set of solar siting decision attributes such as the size of a solar installation, visibility of solar panels, setback or a minimum distance of the solar panels from property lines, and the probability of residential development was estimated. Chapter 2 uses the hedonic pricing method and spatial difference-in-differences estimators to examine how multiple energy sources (that is, clean or dirty fuel types) impact property values in four East Coastal US states (GA, NC, RI, and SC) using Zillow ZTRAX housing transaction data and Energy Information Administration powerplant data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is used to measure the distance from each property to the closest energy generators within the region. The final chapter of this study uses data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) and spatially explicit data on flood risk with a variety of measures from First Street Foundation's Flood Lab to assess the resilience of coastal community energy infrastructure and the flood risk faced by renewable energy infrastructure.