Public acceptance towards waste-to-energy power plants: a new quantified assessment based on “willingness to pay”

This article estimates the impact of residential risk perception on the willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid having waste-to-energy (WTE) power plants in the neighborhood. The filed survey shows that 63.4% of the respondents protested for various reasons. It is noteworthy that house owners indicate a greater willingness for resettlement than house renters. However, residents who take WTE incineration facilities into consideration before settlement are more inclined to oppose the payment for facility relocation. Determinants of protest and supportive responses are evaluated by the sample selection method (SSM). Empirical results show that the average WTP for avoiding WTE facilities being sited in the neighborhood is 2,160 CNY, which is reliable because we include protest responses in the estimation process. Housing price, gender, and living area are decisive factors for the WTP value; in particular, the marginal effect of exaggerated risk perception on WTP amounts to 1,074 CNY.