Consumers' willingness to pay for renewable and nuclear energy: A comparative analysis between the US and Japan

This paper examines consumers' willingness to pay for nuclear and renewable electricity as two alternatives to fossil fuels for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We conduct a choice experiment of consumer-stated preferences on the basis of an online survey in four US states and Japan after the Fukushima nuclear plant accident. First, the results suggest that US consumers' willingness to pay for a 1% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions is $0.31 per month, which is similar to the results for the US a decade ago. Japanese consumers show a slightly lower willingness to pay of $0.26 per month. Second, the average consumer in both countries expresses a negative preference for increases in nuclear power in the fuel mix (to a greater extent in Japan). Third, renewable energy sources were endorsed by both US and Japanese consumers, who show a willingness to pay $0.71 and $0.31 per month for a 1% increase in the use of renewable source energy. This study also examines the differences in respondents' characteristics. Approximately 60% of the US respondents who did not change their perception concerning the use of nuclear energy subsequent to the Fukushima nuclear crisis have almost no preference for variation in nuclear power, which is in stark contrast to the Japanese respondents' opposition to nuclear energy.