Working Paper #2011-04 – Valuing the Visual Disamenity of Offshore Wind Projects at Varying Distances from the Shore: An Application on the Delaware Shoreline

Valuing the Visual Disamenity of Offshore Wind Projects at Varying Distances from the Shore: An Application on the Delaware Shoreline

by Andrew D. Krueger, George R. Parsons, Jeremy Firestone

Abstract

Several offshore wind power projects are under consideration in the United States. A concern with any wind power project is the visual disamenity it may create. Using a stated preference choice model, we estimated the external costs to residents of the State of Delaware for offshore wind turbines located at different distances from the coast. The annual costs to inland residents was $19, $9, $1, and $0 (2006$) for turbines located at 1, 3.6, 6, and 9 miles offshore. The cost to residents living on the ocean was $80, $69, $35, and $27 for the same increments.

JEL Codes: Q51

Keywords:  Windfarms, View Disamenity, Valuation