PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gaur, Vasundhara
AU  - Lang, Corey
AU  - Howard, Gregory
AU  - Quainoo, Ruth
TI  - When Energy Issues Are Land Use Issues: Estimating Preferences for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Siting
AID  - 10.3368/le.99.3.111221-0130R1
DP  - 2023 Aug 01
TA  - Land Economics
PG  - 343--363
VI  - 99
IP  - 3
4099  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/99/3/343.short
4100  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/99/3/343.full
AB  - Although solar energy receives broad support in general, utility-scale solar arrays can be contentious because at the siting stage, it becomes a land use issue replete with potential disamenities and trade-offs. We conduct a choice experiment survey to estimate preferences for attributes of utility-scale solar arrays in Rhode Island, United States. Our results suggest that the largest indicator of solar development approval is prior land use, with residents willing to pay an additional $10–$21 in monthly utility bills for developments in commercial, industrial, brownfield, and covered landfill areas, and $13–$49 to avoid developments on farm and forest land.