Abstract
This paper analyses the willingness to pay (WTP) for green electricity among residential consumers in Poland, which is the sixth most populous and eighth largest and most dynamic economy in the European Union. The current share of renewable energy sources (RES) in energy consumption is around 13.5% and is expected to increase. To estimate the mean WTP of the residential consumers in Poland, as well as its main determinants, an empirical survey has been conducted and a contingent valuation method has been used. The results obtained indicate that—above all—age, income, environmental attitudes, peer support, but also education and knowledge play the most important role in explaining consumers’ WTP for green electricity. Statistical analyses indicate that the mean WTP of Polish households is currently quite low (additional 3.5 USD per month), which is due to the relatively low GDP per capita, lack of knowledge about green energy and no past experience with green electricity tariffs.
Highlights
For the last few decades there has been a strong pressure to protect the natural environment of our planet by means of sustainable development in the energy market, among other methods
The main study was preceded by a pilot one, in order to check whether all of the questions were clear to the respondents and that the structure of the survey was correct
Hierarchical sampling was used in order to guarantee a representative sample from all of the 16 Polish regions based on statistics published by the Polish Central Statistical Office (CSO)
Summary
For the last few decades there has been a strong pressure to protect the natural environment of our planet by means of sustainable development in the energy market, among other methods. Within the energy market, such a development is based on three main pillars: increase of energy efficiency (and lower energy consumption and reduced losses in energy transmission and distribution), decreased emissions of CO2 and, an increase in share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the energy mix. The latter aim is supported by many strategic and legislative regulations (e.g., The Paris Agreement, EU Directives, national RES-acts), and obliges the countries to support further development of RES. One must be aware that these additional costs of production in RES, as well as of subsidies, are usually shifted to the end-users of electricity, that is, households and companies, so the private sector typically bears most of the cost connected with the development of RES
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
