The public's value for developing ocean energy technology in the Republic of Korea: A contingent valuation study

Ocean energy is a type of renewable energies and is considered as having a potential power of providing a substantial amount of energy. Although some forms of ocean energy are developed, there is a need for further technological advances to better utilize ocean energy. Government should take observable actions to compensate for the costs of developing the technology. This paper attempts to apply a contingent valuation (CV) method to obtaining at least a preliminary evaluation of the benefits that ensue from the development of the technology that commercializes ocean energy in the Republic of Korea. Overall, the CV survey was successfully carried out to elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) for ocean energy. The WTP was statistically significantly estimated from one-and one-half bounded spike model and the monthly mean WTP estimates was KRW 1003 (USD 0.9) per household. The estimates of the annual benefits to relevant residents amounted to KRW 206.4 billion (USD 183.8 million).