Public support for renewable energy: Do values matter? - Study 3: Price sensitivity irrespective of individual attributes

Abstract

This study investigated whether projected electricity prices interact with household income, political orientation, and climate change concern to predict public support for a 50% renewable energy target (RET) in Australia. In an online experiment, 633 Australian participants (Age: M = 45.2yrs, SD = 17.5, Males: 49.1%) rated their support for a 50% RET at one of five projected increases in their quarterly power bills that ranged from $5 to $150. A moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that: (1) support for the 50% RET fell as the projected price of electricity increased, and (2) although high household income and high climate change concern predicted higher support for the policy, they did not moderate the predictive effect of projected price increase on support for the 50% RET. These results indicate that all participants, irrespective of their differences on three assessed attributes, exhibited similar sensitivity to energy price increases by decreasing their support for the 50% RET as the projected price rose. Implications of these findings for energy policy design and communication are discussed.