Coal-fired power plants blend biomass in varying proportions to increase the share of renewables in their energy generation portfolios and reduce pollutant emissions. We conduct a pair of original survey experiments to explore the factors influencing consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for electricity derived from biomass blending and how those factors' influence is conditional on political partisanship. The first experiment investigates the influence of the stated policy goal being pursued � whether it is environmental or political � on WTP. We discover an important hindrance to efforts to build support for renewable energy among consumers: the policy goals that most increase WTP among Democrats significantly decrease WTP among Republicans, and vice versa. Democrats are most willing to spend more for electricity generated by biomass co-firing when it is justified in terms of environmental benefits �a reduction in greenhouse gasses or of landfilled wastes. By contrast, Republican WTP was highest when biomass co-firing was described as an effort to reduce America's dependent on foreign oil � the same treatment that produced the lowest WTP among Democrats. The second experiment demonstrates that the source of information also matters. Holding the policy justification for biomass co-firing constant, we varied the source of who made the call for co-firing to increase the share of electricity generated by renewable fuels. Scientific researchers had the greatest capacity to sway public opinion and increase subjects' WTP. The same call for co-firing from scientists increased WTP versus other treatments for Democrats and Republicans alike. The persuasiveness of a call for Americans to pay more for renewable electricity is a function both of why Americans are asked to make such a sacrifice and who is making the appeal. Our results underscore the importance of the scientific community in informing the public on renewable energy issues.

Enticing the American public to pay for renewable energy: Mediating roles of the scientist and environmental vs. policy goals

248th National Meeting (2014)

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