Search

The decision-making and policy formation context in Iceland has been largely devoid of total economic valuations in cost-benefit assessments. Using an internet survey and applying the double bounded dichotomous choice methodology, this contingent valuation study sets out an estimate of the total economic value pertaining to Heiðmörk, a popular recreational area of urban open space located on the fringes of Reykjavík, Garðabær and Kópavogur. In so doing, this case study advances the practice of using non-market valuation techniques in the country. The welfare estimates provide evidence that Icelanders consider Heiðmörk to possess considerable total economic value, with taxpayers willing to pay a mean lump-sum tax in the range 17,039 to 24,790 ISK per payment to secure its preservation, equating to an estimated total economic value of between 5.87 and 35.47 billion ISK. In the light of possible competitive land management demands among Heiðmörk's three owners and many recreational users in the future, the establishment of these values and their potential use in cost-benefit assessments informs the debate concerning whether the area should be preserved or further developed to satisfy economic objectives. Additionally, a body of experimental evidence is formed suggesting that the increased duration of a fixed payment vehicle is associated with much higher total economic valuations compared to a one-year payment period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic knowledge concerning preferences and willingness to pay for the preservation of geothermal areas is currently very limited. This paper seeks to increase understanding, using the contingent valuation method to estimate willingness to pay for the preservation of two high-temperature geothermal fields likely to be developed in the near future: Eldvörp and Hverahlíð. Both study sites are located in Iceland, a nation that has been the recipient of repeated calls by the OECD to commence accounting for environmental impacts in cost-benefit analyses, particularly those associated with power projects. We applied interval regression using log-transformation to estimate WTP for the preservation of the high-temperature Eldvörp and Hverahlíð fields. The estimated mean WTP was 8333 and 7122 ISK for Eldvörp and Hverahlíð respectively. Scaled up to the Icelandic population of national taxpayers, this equates to estimated total economic value of 2.10 and 1.77 billion ISK respectively. These results reinforce arguments in favour of accounting for environmental impacts of Iceland's future geothermal power projects as a mandatory component of the decision-making process. In Iceland and further afield, more research is necessary to develop understanding of the economic value of impacts to recreational amenity and other ecosystem services resulting from geothermal power projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Environmental life-cycle costing conducted on deep enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). • Reykjanes' total costs were in the range 14.47–15.78 M euros (Є45.0/MWh/year). • Vendenheim's total costs were in the range 91.90–113.97 M euros (Є16.5/MWh/year). • Evidence found that deep EGS projects are cheaper than conventional geothermal power. Environmental life cycle costing (ELCC) is a tool which aggregates five categories of monetary costs across a project's life cycle: investment, operation, maintenance, end-of-life, and externalities. This paper summarises the results from the first two ELCC studies involving deep enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). The ReCiPe method was used to transform life cycle impact factors into economic costs for externalities. The two case studies are the pilot EGS project in Reykjanes, Iceland and the Vendenheim co-generation plant in France. The ELCC of the Reykjanes project is estimated in the range 14.47–15.78 million euros, with investment and well drilling projected to constitute 83% of these amounts. An ELCC in the range 91.90–113.97 million euros is estimated for Vendenheim, with the production plant, well drilling, and operations and maintenance costs accounting for the majority. The levelized costs of energy associated with Vendenheim (mean Є45.0/MWh/year) and Reykjanes (mean Є16.5/MWh/year) are at the lower end of the range normally reported for geothermal power projects. Although the case studies cannot be directly compared since Reykjanes involves the drilling of a single well and Vendenheim a co-generation plant and two wells, the outcomes suggest that deep EGS projects may involve cost-savings compared to conventional geothermal power ventures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]