Distance to offshore wind farms, onshore wind power spillover relationships, and the willingness to pay for farshore, large-scale wind power development

Abstract

As demands for clean energy mount to meet international and national climate goals, constant tension and trade-offs regarding where to site large-scale offshore wind farms (OWF) remain. Using data from a choice experiment to elicit preferences for large-scale, 3.6 gigawatts OWFs in Denmark, we find that respondents living far from a proposed or existing offshore wind power projects have a lower willingness to pay (WTP) to locate new OWFs at 12 km, 18 km, or 50 km relative to 8 km from the coast. Furthermore, based on the estimated densities of existing onshore wind turbines at a given respondent’s postal (ZIP) code level, we find evidence of a significant relationship between existing onshore wind power development and preferences for proposed OWF locations.