Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
Loading next page...
/lp/american-economic-association/measuring-the-environmental-benefits-of-wind-generated-electricity-t4Hx9F77Tc
- Publisher
- American Economic Association
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2013 by the American Economic Association
- Subject
- Articles
- ISSN
- 1945-7731
- eISSN
- 1945-774x
- DOI
- 10.1257/pol.5.4.107
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
Abstract Production subsidies for renewable energy, such as solar or wind power, are rationalized by their environmental benefits. Subsidizing these projects allows clean, renewable technologies to produce electricity that otherwise would have been produced by dirtier, fossil-fuel power plants. In this paper, I quantify the emissions offset by wind power for a large electricity grid in Texas using the randomness inherent in wind power availability. When accounting for dynamics in the production process, the results indicate that only for high estimates of the social costs of pollution does the value of emissions offset by wind power exceed cost of renewable energy subsidies. (JEL L94 , L98 , Q42 , Q48 , Q51 , Q53 , Q54 )
Journal
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy – American Economic Association
Published: Nov 1, 2013