The Private and Public Economics of Renewable Electricity Generation

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4029573
AutoresSeverin Borenstein (0000-0001-5635-0841, E. T. Grether Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, California; Co-Director of the Energy Institute at Haas, and Director of the University of California Energy Institute; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts., autor correspondente)
Ano2012
Volume26
Fascículo1
Páginas67-92
Data de publicação2012-02-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Journal of Economic Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0895-3309 • E-ISSN: 1944-7965
EditoraAmerican Economic Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1257/jep.26.1.67
OpenAlexW2127625390
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas26
Referências citadas13

Generating electricity from renewable sources is more expensive than conventional approaches but reduces pollution externalities. Analyzing the tradeoff is much more challenging than often presumed because the value of electricity is extremely dependent on the time and location at which it is produced, which is not very controllable with some renewables, such as wind and solar. Likewise, the pollution benefits from renewable generation depend on what type of generation it displaces, which also depends on time and location. Without incorporating these factors, cost-benefit analyses of alternatives are likely to be misleading. Other common arguments for subsidizing renewable power-green jobs, energy security, and driving down fossil energy prices-are unlikely to substantially alter the analysis. The role of intellectual property spillovers is a strong argument for subsidizing energy science research, but less persuasive as an enhancement to the value of installing current renewable energy technologies

Economics · Electricity · Electricity generation · Energy policy · Energy subsidies · Environmental economics · Externality · Feed-in tariff · Market economy · Microeconomics · Natural resource economics · Renewable energy · Subsidy · Climate Change Policy and Economics · Energy and Environment Impacts · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies · Engineering