Using contingent valuation to explore willingness to pay for renewable energy: A comparison of collective and voluntary payment vehicles

This study uses a split-sample, dichotomous choice contingent valuation survey of 1574 U.S. residents to explore willingness to pay (WTP) for renewable energy under collective and voluntary payment vehicles, and under government and private provision of the good. We also evaluate the impact of "participation expectations" on stated WTP. We find some evidence that, when confronted with a collective payment mechanism, respondents state a somewhat higher WTP than when voluntary payment mechanisms are used. Similarly, private provision of the good elicits a somewhat higher WTP than does government provision. We also find that contingent valuation responses are strongly correlated with expectations for the WTP of others. Our results shed light on strategic response behavior and the incentive compatibility of different CV designs, and offer practical insight into U.S. household preferences for how to support renewable energy. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.