Exploring Residents' Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy Supply: Evidences from an Italian Case Study

Abstract

The present study offers a Contingent Valuation application to explore residents' willingness to pay for renewable energy supply in a case study in the Italian Alps. Data were originated from onsite personal interviews and were analyzed with a Tobit model. Results show that respondents are willing to pay, on average, 5.1€ per month for a 100% of renewable energy supply, corresponding approximately to a 13% increase in the energy bill. Among the factors positively affecting the answers, the personal knowledge about renewable energy plays a key role in predicting WTP, as well as income and the personal perception of a possible future development of hydropower plants. On the other hand, age and number of household components negatively affect WTP.

Keywords: Renewable energy, willingness to pay, contingent valuation, Tobit model, Italian Alps, recharge.green

JEL Classification: Q41, Q26, Q42