Tennessee Residential Electricity Consumers’ Views on Electricity from Bioenergy and Other Renewable Sources

 
Production of bioenergy on a commercial scale could expand industrial consumption of agricultural commodities, adding jobs and economic activity to rural areas. Bioenergy uses renewable resources such as fast growing agricultural crops and trees or forest products wastes to produce electricity.  In 2001, biomass constituted about half of the nation’s consumption of renewable energy, constituting about 3 percent of consumption.  
The purpose of the study is to ascertain residential electricity consumers’ views on electricity from bioenergy and other renewable sources.  Consumers’ support and willingness to pay premiums for energy from renewable sources are evaluated.  Differences in willingness to pay across sources of renewable energy are also investigated.

 
  • Solar
  • Wind
  • Landfill Gas
  • Bioenergy from Fast Growing Crops
  • Bioenergy from Forest Products Wastes
Basic Questions

Study Findings
1. Do residential electricity consumers support electricity from renewable sources and would they pay more for it?
2. Do consumers prefer certain types of renewables over others?
3. Who is most likely to be willing to pay more for electricity from renewables?
  • highly educated
  • middle income individuals
  • contributed time or money to environmental organizations
Download a copy of the full report of survey results.  Report in PDF format.