Public preference of electricity options before and after Fukushima

Michael Rudolf,Roman Seidl,Corinne Moser,Pius Krütli,Michael Stauffacher

doi:10.1080/1943815x.2014.881887

Abstract

The accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in spring 2011 spurred Germany and Switzerland to phase out nuclear technology. To ensure future electricity supply, this phase-out requires a strong commitment to accept alternative production technologies and energy strategies. This study examined if and how laypeople's preference for electricity produced by nuclear power and the alternatives in Switzerland has been affected by the Japanese disaster. An online study was conducted in February (N = 69) and repeated in June 2011 (N = 57), applying the same questionnaire to both samples. The study included a preference rating task involving nuclear, gas, photovoltaics, wind power, and hydropower, and choice-based conjoint tasks. The conjoint tasks contained attributes such as production technologies and price instruments. Participants had to choose their preferred combination of attributes. The results show that laypeople's preference for nuclear power dropped significantly between February and June 2011, whereas their preferences for other technologies changed only marginally. Furthermore, the envisaged mid-term “stepping stones” of gas and electricity imports on the way to renewable energy have been highly unpopular and have remained so after the Fukushima accident. Transitioning from nuclear energy to renewable energy, therefore, will likely be challenging.

Highlights

The accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant, Fukushima Daiichi, in March 2011 had a major impact on energy discourse, at least in the German-speaking part of Europe (Siegrist and Visschers 2013)
We aim to examine (1) how different energy supply portfolios are perceived, (2) if the Fukushima accident had an effect on these perceptions, and (3) if respondents are aware of the complex trade-off situations and the related necessary decisions that Switzerland faces in the mid-term
Nuclear power was significantly affected by the major nuclear accident at the Fukushima plant (U 1⁄4 1500.5, z 1⁄4 2 3.02, p, 0.01, r 1⁄4 0.26) and dropped one point in preference (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

The accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant, Fukushima Daiichi, in March 2011 had a major impact on energy discourse, at least in the German-speaking part of Europe (Siegrist and Visschers 2013). In Switzerland before March 2011, plans existed to replace some of the older nuclear power plants. Large-scale power plants, such as nuclear plants, were a core element of the Swiss government’s strategy to close the developing electricity supply gap (Oberle et al 2009). A national vote on the construction of at least one new nuclear power plant was planned for 2013– 2014 (Rudolf 2011). After the Fukushima accident, the Swiss Federal Council and the parliament decided to phase out nuclear electricity production over the two to three decades (Bundesrat 2011; Waber 2011)

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