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Efficiency versus Equity in Spatial Siting of Electricity Generation: Citizen Preferences in a Serious Board Game in Switzerland

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  • Franziska Steinberger

    (Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute for Environmental Decisions (IED), ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Tobias Minder

    (Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute for Environmental Decisions (IED), ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Evelina Trutnevyte

    (Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute for Environmental Decisions (IED), ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
    Renewable Energy Systems, Institute for Environmental Sciences (ISE), Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland)

Abstract

Energy transitions around the world will change the spatial fingerprint of the electricity sector, but there is a lack of studies on citizen preferences for siting the future mix of electricity technologies. Using the case of Switzerland in 2035, we present a serious board game to form and elicit citizen preferences for spatial siting of a full mix of electricity technologies and we test this game with 44 participants in the city of Zurich. The game proves to help elicit valid preferences of the participants and lead to measurable learning effects about this complex, multi-dimensional topic. The results show that these 44 participants prefer a diverse mix of renewable technologies for Switzerland in 2035. In terms of siting, these participants consistently choose the efficiency strategy, where new plants are concentrated in the areas where they produce most electricity at least cost, in contrast to the strategy of regional equity, where all Swiss regions would equally build new generation and share the benefits and burdens of the energy transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Franziska Steinberger & Tobias Minder & Evelina Trutnevyte, 2020. "Efficiency versus Equity in Spatial Siting of Electricity Generation: Citizen Preferences in a Serious Board Game in Switzerland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:18:p:4961-:d:417119
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