Article
The Effect of Offshore Wind Power Projects on Recreational Beach Use: A Contingent-Behavior Study on the East Coast of the United States
Energy Policy
(2020)
Abstract
We use contingent behavior data from a stated preference survey to estimate trip loss to beaches on the East Coast of the United States due the presence of offshore wind power projects. We also use a travel cost random utility model combining revealed preference and contingent-behavior data to estimate the welfare effects of offshore wind power projects on recreational beach use in the same region. We use internet-based data from a probabilistic sample of beachgoers visiting beaches from Massachusetts to South Carolina in 2015. The contingent-behavior data are based on responses to visual simulations of wind power projects at seven different distances offshore (2.5 to 20 miles) in clear and hazy conditions and at night. At 2.5-miles offshore, 29% of the sample reports they would not visit the beach compared to only 5% at 20-miles offshore. The welfare effects for a wind power project at 12.5 miles offshore, which is a common distance for proposed projects, is about $5 million per year (2015$). This is an average value over East Coast beaches for a wind power project with 100 turbines on one beach. We also find evidence of potentially large numbers of curiosity trips to view wind power projects – an effect we expect to fall after the first generation of projects.
Keywords
- Offshore WIndpower,
- Beach Recreation,
- Economics,
- Travel Cost Model
Disciplines
Publication Date
2020
Citation Information
George R Parsons, Jeremy Firestone, Lingxiao Yan and Jenna Toussaint. "The Effect of Offshore Wind Power Projects on Recreational Beach Use: A Contingent-Behavior Study on the East Coast of the United States" Energy Policy Vol. 144 (2020) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/george_parsons/60/