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    A Choice Experiment Study on the Farmers’ Attitudes toward Biogas and Waste Reuse in a Nitrates Vulnerable Zone

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    The present study aims at assessing dairy farmers’ preferences over different technological options related to the anaerobic digestion technology. A Choice Experiment study was conducted in Arborea, a NVZ dairy district located in Sardinia, Italy. The results show that profitability of the investment is a general driver of the choice. Heterogeneity of preferences is observed, especially as regards the options of investment on-farm or off-farm. Farmers who are especially interested in an investment on-farm are characterized by higher awareness of energy issues; while farmers with excess waste load would prefer an off-farm investment. Digestate treatment options have practically been ignored in our choice experiments: farmers do not seem aware of the opportunities offered by further processing of the digestate to improve management of the farm waste. New regulations associated with the Circular Economy EU package could increase the farmers’ perception of economic benefits associated with the adoption of anaerobic digestion technologies

    Fostering photovoltaic technologies in Mediterranean cities: Consumers' demand and social acceptance

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    This paper provides an analysis of six Mediterranean countries as regards public acceptance of Photovoltaic (PV) and Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) technologies. The analysis considers both the private dimension (i.e. willingness to install a specific PV system) and the public dimension (i.e. acceptability of BIPV applications in the urban context where the individual resides). As regards the latter, we propose simulations of BIPV applications in residential buildings representative of each city, and elicit preferences for different technological and aesthetic solutions, conditional on different levels of information on the cost effectiveness of each option. The results show that awareness of the benefits arising from the PV installation and attachment toward the city are important drivers in both the public and private dimensions. A comparative analysis across countries suggests that Italian, Tunisian and Jordanian respondents seem the most interested in BIPV technologies, either when considering a possible investment for their household, and when evaluating applications in the buildings presented in the experimental scenarios

    Analysis of the soial acceptance of PV and BIPV technologies in Mediterranean cities

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    This paper provides an analysis of six Mediterranean countries as regards the attitudes and preferences on solar technologies. It analyses the social acceptance of PV technologies both in the private dimension (i.e. willingness to install a specific PV system) and in the public dimension (i.e. acceptability of specific BIPV applications in the urban context where the individual resides). We designed an original experiment, using simulations of BIPV applications in residential buildings representative of each city, in order to elicit preferences for different technological and aesthetic solutions, conditional on different levels of information on the cost effectiveness of each option. Results show the positive influence of awareness of benefits, subsidies, “neutral” information and peer effect on the potential adopter of PV technologies; a positive attitude and attachment toward the city also plays an important role. Similar results are found when we examine the social acceptability of different PV applications on residential buildings in the urban context. A comparative analysis across countries reveals that Italian, Tunisian and Jordanian respondents seem the most interested in PV technologies, while Spanish respondents focus on negative aspects associated with a PV investment. Lebanese and Egyptian respondents are in between the two positions

    Powering the change: a Contingent Valuation study on the determinants of demand for green vs. brown energy

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    A Contingent Valuation study was performed to assess a potential trade-off between external costs (impacts on health caused by pollution) and the cost of electricity paid by households. Two technologies were selected for the valuation exercise: coal-fired thermal and solar photovoltaic. Our results show that households are interested in buying solar energy, and are willing to pay an additional premium for it, which would support maintenance of a feed-in tariff system. In addition, it is found that higher awareness of the external benefits and costs related, respectively, to solar and coal energy, is a crucial factor that shapes their demand in the household sector. According to the results of our study, we can expect that if electric utilities were required by regulators to provide detailed information on the external effects (and in particular, on health impacts) of coal and other fossil fuels used in their energy mix, there will be a sizeable positive shift in the demand of green electric energy in the household sector
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