Estimating the economic value of hydropeaking externalities in regulated rivers
Ruokamo, Enni; Juutinen, Artti; Ashraf, Faisal Bin; Haghighi, Ali Torabi; Hellsten, Seppo; Huuki, Hannu; Karhinen, Santtu; Kopsakangas-Savolainen, Maria; Marttila, Hannu; Pongracz, Eva; Romakkaniemi, Atso; Vermaat, Jan E. (2024)
Ruokamo, Enni
Juutinen, Artti
Ashraf, Faisal Bin
Haghighi, Ali Torabi
Hellsten, Seppo
Huuki, Hannu
Karhinen, Santtu
Kopsakangas-Savolainen, Maria
Marttila, Hannu
Pongracz, Eva
Romakkaniemi, Atso
Vermaat, Jan E.
Julkaisusarja
Applied Energy
Volyymi
353
Sivut
32 p.
Elsevier BV
2024
How to cite: Enni Ruokamo, Artti Juutinen, Faisal Bin Ashraf, Ali Torabi Haghighi, Seppo Hellsten, Hannu Huuki, Santtu Karhinen, Maria Kopsakangas-Savolainen, Hannu Marttila, Eva Pongracz, Atso Romakkaniemi, Jan E. Vermaat, Estimating the economic value of hydropeaking externalities in regulated rivers, Applied Energy, Volume 353, Part A, 2024, 122055, ISSN 0306-2619, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.122055.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024053142114
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024053142114
Tiivistelmä
Hydropower is a flexible form of electricity generation providing both baseload and balancing power to accommodate intermittent renewables in the energy mix. However, hydropower also generates various externalities. This study investigates individuals' preferences for policies aiming to reduce short-term regulations (i.e., hydropeaking in regulated rivers) while accounting for associated externalities with a discrete choice experiment. This is the first valuation study focusing on hydropeaking that considers both negative and positive externalities. The results imply that most individuals prefer stronger restrictions on short-term regulations to mitigate local environmental impacts. Individuals especially value improvements in recreational use, fish stocks, and the ecological state. On the other hand, potential increases in CO2 emissions are linked with a clear disutility. The estimated benefits obtained from an improved state of the river environment due to such restrictions exceed the disutility caused by increased CO2 emissions. The results also reveal unobserved preference heterogeneity among individuals, which should be accounted for in the willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimation using a model specification with correlated utility coefficients. Overall, the findings can inform policy-makers and environmental managers on the economic value of hydropeaking externalities and further guide the sustainable management of rivers regulated for hydropower generation.
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