The Long-Term Impact of Wind Power Generation on a Local Community: Economics Analysis of Subjective Well-Being Data in Chōshi City

Yushi Kunugi,Toshi H Arimura,Miwa Nakai

doi:10.3390/en14133984

Yushi Kunugi, Toshi H Arimura + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en14133984

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Abstract

In this study, we analyzed the external effects of wind turbines, which are often considered detrimental to the promotion of wind power generation. Understanding these externalities is essential to reaching a consensus with residents who live near the site of a planned wind turbine. Our research objective was to determine the relationship between wind turbines and people’s well-being in areas where they have been installed for a long time. We hypothesized that wind turbines would have a negative impact on people’s well-being. We conducted a survey by postal mail in Chōshi City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, to examine the external effects of wind turbines, adopting a subjective well-being index to measure respondents’ well-being. Regression analysis suggests that having a view of wind power turbines has a positive effect on the subjective well-being of local residents. Moreover, the results indicate that such well-being increases with increasing distance from the turbines. Except for scenic elements, we found that wind turbines are not always considered desirable by residents. Therefore, it is important to further clarify the external influence of wind turbines and other facilities in local communities.

Highlights

From the perspective of climate change and energy security, the rapid introduction of renewable energy is greatly expected
The dummy variable indicating a distance of more than 2000 m from wind turbines is positively significant at the 5% level in Models 1 and 2
We find that a certain distance from wind turbines (1000–1500 m or more than 2000 m) may positively affect well-being, but may positively affect well-being with respect to the view of the wind turbines

Summary

Introduction

From the perspective of climate change and energy security, the rapid introduction of renewable energy is greatly expected. Countries around the world have been researching and introducing renewable energies that take advantage of local natural capital [1,2,3,4]. Despite the remarkable growth of photovoltaic energy via a feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme, the installed capacity of renewable energy has not been fully utilized in Japan. The introduction of other renewable energy sources, such as wind and geothermal power generation, has been greatly expected. In announcing that it will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the Japanese government proposed the expansion of onshore wind power and offshore wind power [5]. It has been suggested that the operation of wind power generation facilities may bring negative externalities to local communities

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