Smells Like Green Energy - Quasi-Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Bioenergy Production on Residential Property Values

26 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2024

See all articles by Christin Hoffmann

Christin Hoffmann

Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU)

Shanmukha Srinivas Byrukuri Gangadhar

Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU)

Felix Müsgens

Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg

Abstract

Residents' acceptance of bioenergy is a prerequisite for its fast and efficient development but is ambiguously discussed in practice and research. We interpret a causal impact of bioenergy plant commissioning on housing prices in their vicinity as the average net external effects for residents. We utilize bioenergy plant construction data in Germany between 2007 and 2022 as a quasi-experiment with naturally occurring control groups in their vicinity and apply recently improved difference-in-difference estimation procedures to analyze instantaneous and heterogeneous treatment effects. We find a significant and negative impact on housing prices if plants use gaseous biofuel, generate electricity on-site, and are medium-sized. The magnitude of the effect is comparable to those for solar fields. In contrast, we find no impact for small and large bioenergy plants and those that use solid or liquid biofuels.

Keywords: Bioenergy, Local acceptance, differences-in-differences, Hedonic pricing

Suggested Citation

Hoffmann, Christin and Byrukuri Gangadhar, Shanmukha Srinivas and Müsgens, Felix, Smells Like Green Energy - Quasi-Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Bioenergy Production on Residential Property Values. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4760312 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4760312

Christin Hoffmann (Contact Author)

Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) ( email )

PO Box 101344
Cottbus, 03013
Germany

Shanmukha Srinivas Byrukuri Gangadhar

Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) ( email )

PO Box 101344
Cottbus, 03013
Germany

Felix Müsgens

Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg ( email )

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