EAPSI: Developing a Survey on Public Perceptions of Energy Tradeoffs in China

Sergi Brian J, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will focus on developing a survey to investigate public perceptions of energy in China. The survey will allow respondents to choose between energy scenarios with different sources of electricity (e.g. coal, nuclear, natural gas, and renewable power). In addition, each scenario will have different levels of climate change related emissions, human health related air pollution, and cost to the customer from electricity bills. Respondents will make several of these comparisons, and their choices will be used to infer their preference for different characteristics of the energy system. In addition, we will randomize which individuals receive information on emissions in order to explore how this information affects preferences. The project will be conducted under the mentorship of Professor Jianhua Xu of Peking University Department of Environmental Management. This survey will serve as a complement to a similar study of one thousand individuals across the United States, and the insight from this research will help inform future policy making to encourage the adoption of more sustainable energy systems both in the U.S. and in China. Time spent in China under the EAPSI program will focus on translating the survey into Chinese and pre-testing it in the local context. The design of the survey is based on a discrete choice conjoint experiment in which the attributes are electricity portfolio, the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the level of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, and the individual?s monthly electricity bill. The emissions and bill components are presented to respondents in terms of changes relative to current baseline levels. Respondents face sixteen comparisons of energy scenarios with different attribute levels, and their responses will be analyzed using a mixed logit, random utility statistical model. The estimated coefficients of this model can be used to interpret the relative strength of preference for each attribute, and can be used to calculate conditional probability of support for different scenarios as well as willingness to pay for different tradeoffs. In addition, using a mixed logit model allows for an exploration of any heterogeneity in preferences based on individual demographics and geographic-specific traits. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.