Adoption and Cooperation Decisions in Sustainable Energy Infrastructure: Evidence From a Sequential Choice Experiment in Germany

FCN Working Paper No. 14/2017

33 Pages Posted: 6 Jan 2019

See all articles by Christian Oberst

Christian Oberst

RWTH Aachen University - E.ON Energy Research Center; German Economic Institute

Marjolein J. W. Harmsen - van Hout

Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, insb. Energieökonomik; Institute for Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN); E.ON Energy Research Center; RWTH Aachen

Date Written: October 1, 2018

Abstract

In this paper, we propose and apply the design of a sequential discrete choice experiment to examine homeowner preferences regarding the adoption of micro-generation systems and willingness to cooperate in sustainable energy infrastructure. Adoption and cooperation decisions of private households in the energy sector are complex, interlinked, and assumably sequential. A common design with single choice tasks reflecting both adoption and cooperation decisions is assumed as cognitively too burdensome for survey respondents. The objective of the proposed sequential choice task design is twofold. Firstly, reducing complexity for respondents. Secondly, reflecting a step-wise decision process as is appropriate for the studied decisions. Our application from the energy sector is motivated by the need for innovative business models for non-industrial prosumers providing flexibility services in (local) distribution grids, due to an increasing amount of volatile and decentrally generated electricity. Results indicate that respondents reveal more pronounced preferences when dealing with their decision in sequential steps and that the task design has a lasting effect on respondents’ choices. By estimating latent class logit models, five consumer classes are identified and labeled by their distinguished motivational foci: costs (1), climate protection (2), self-supply (3), local reference (4), and other (5).

Keywords: Choice Experiment, Micro-generation, Renewable Energy, Community Energy, Energy Transition

JEL Classification: C25, D12, Q42

Suggested Citation

Oberst, Christian and Oberst, Christian and Harmsen - van Hout, Marjolein J. W., Adoption and Cooperation Decisions in Sustainable Energy Infrastructure: Evidence From a Sequential Choice Experiment in Germany (October 1, 2018). FCN Working Paper No. 14/2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3305141 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3305141

Christian Oberst (Contact Author)

RWTH Aachen University - E.ON Energy Research Center ( email )

Mathieustrasse 10
Aachen, 52074
Germany

German Economic Institute ( email )

Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 21
Köln, 50459
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.iwkoeln.de/en

Marjolein J. W. Harmsen - van Hout

Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, insb. Energieökonomik; Institute for Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN); E.ON Energy Research Center; RWTH Aachen ( email )

Aachen
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de/aw/cms/website/themen/~shg/fcn/lang/en/

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