Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy in Myanmar: Energy Source Preference
The increased use of renewable energy is imperative as a countermeasure to climate change. As with conventional electricity generation technologies, public acceptance of renewables is an important issue, and willingness to pay (WTP) is a widely used indicator to assess such public attitudes. Unfortu...
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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Series: | Energies |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1505 |
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author | Masako Numata Masahiro Sugiyama Wunna Swe Daniel del Barrio Alvarez |
author_facet | Masako Numata Masahiro Sugiyama Wunna Swe Daniel del Barrio Alvarez |
author_sort | Masako Numata |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The increased use of renewable energy is imperative as a countermeasure to climate change. As with conventional electricity generation technologies, public acceptance of renewables is an important issue, and willingness to pay (WTP) is a widely used indicator to assess such public attitudes. Unfortunately, the literature to date mostly covers developed countries, with few WTP surveys in developing countries. Tackling climate change is an urgent issue for these developing countries; therefore, understanding of public attitudes toward renewables in developing countries is crucial. This study conducted the first survey on WTP for introducing renewable energy in Myanmar. Although Myanmar boasts abundant renewable energy resources, including solar power and biomass in addition to large-scale hydro plants, its resources are not being properly utilized to generate electricity. This study surveyed WTP for power generation by solar photovoltaics, small hydropower, and biomass facilities. The results showed the highest WTP for solar power (USD 1.92) with 10% share in the energy mix, and lower WTP for biomass and small hydropower electricity generations (USD 1.13 and USD 1.17, respectively). Careful public communication is thus crucial for expanding biomass and small-scale hydro power plants. |
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format | Article |
id | doaj.art-f901ebfdb6af4d569818d572efa1b835 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1996-1073 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:24:44Z |
publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
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series | Energies |
spelling | doaj.art-f901ebfdb6af4d569818d572efa1b8352023-11-21T09:46:46ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-03-01145150510.3390/en14051505Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy in Myanmar: Energy Source PreferenceMasako Numata0Masahiro Sugiyama1Wunna Swe2Daniel del Barrio Alvarez3Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanInstitute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanDepartment of Electrical Power Engineering, Mandalay Technological University, Mandalay 05072, MyanmarDepartment of Civil Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, JapanThe increased use of renewable energy is imperative as a countermeasure to climate change. As with conventional electricity generation technologies, public acceptance of renewables is an important issue, and willingness to pay (WTP) is a widely used indicator to assess such public attitudes. Unfortunately, the literature to date mostly covers developed countries, with few WTP surveys in developing countries. Tackling climate change is an urgent issue for these developing countries; therefore, understanding of public attitudes toward renewables in developing countries is crucial. This study conducted the first survey on WTP for introducing renewable energy in Myanmar. Although Myanmar boasts abundant renewable energy resources, including solar power and biomass in addition to large-scale hydro plants, its resources are not being properly utilized to generate electricity. This study surveyed WTP for power generation by solar photovoltaics, small hydropower, and biomass facilities. The results showed the highest WTP for solar power (USD 1.92) with 10% share in the energy mix, and lower WTP for biomass and small hydropower electricity generations (USD 1.13 and USD 1.17, respectively). Careful public communication is thus crucial for expanding biomass and small-scale hydro power plants.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1505willingness to payrenewable energyMyanmarclimate changestated preferencediscrete choice experiment (DCE) |
spellingShingle | Masako Numata Masahiro Sugiyama Wunna Swe Daniel del Barrio Alvarez Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy in Myanmar: Energy Source Preference Energies willingness to pay renewable energy Myanmar climate change stated preference discrete choice experiment (DCE) |
title | Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy in Myanmar: Energy Source Preference |
title_full | Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy in Myanmar: Energy Source Preference |
title_fullStr | Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy in Myanmar: Energy Source Preference |
title_full_unstemmed | Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy in Myanmar: Energy Source Preference |
title_short | Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy in Myanmar: Energy Source Preference |
title_sort | willingness to pay for renewable energy in myanmar energy source preference |
topic | willingness to pay renewable energy Myanmar climate change stated preference discrete choice experiment (DCE) |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1505 |
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