Three essays on environmental valuation: the social value of carbon storage in wetlands, the impact of wind turbines on home prices, and the effect of flood risk on home prices
type: CreativeWork
description: Climate change is a growing threat to socioeconomic systems at all geographic scales, from local to global. Each of the three essays in this paper looks at a different economic aspect of climate change, from the value of a blue carbon sink, the impact of renewable energy technology on property prices, and the effect of changing flood risk and coastal amenities on property prices. ☐ The first essay in this work looks at valuing changes in the economic value of carbon stored in tidal wetlands undergoing land cover change. Coastal wetland systems are highly effective at sequestering and storing carbon dioxide, and represent an important “Blue Carbon” sink. This essay first develops an economic model for valuing carbon sequestration and then applies the model to the Delaware Estuary. The annual value of net carbon sequestration is found to be between $5,000 and $44,000, and the Delaware estuary is losing between $165,000 and $7.33 million in sequestration potential each year, depending on discount rate used. The results of this study are useful for land management decisions in Delaware, and the model developed can be applied to valuing carbon sequestration in any ecosystem, provided sequestration rates are known. ☐ The second essay investigates the impact of the University of Delaware’s Wind Turbine in Lewes, Delaware, on local property prices. Wind turbine developments are frequently met with fervent local opposition, citing concerns over changing views, noise, and wildlife impacts, which may lead to reduced property prices. Using a hedonic valuation approach and advanced GIS techniques, this study finds no significant impact of the UD Wind Turbine on the majority of local property prices, with the exception of properties that are located closest to the turbine and are in full view. Results of this study are an important addition to the wind energy hedonic literature, contributing a study on the impacts of a single turbine to a literature that has largely focused on th…
abstract: Climate change is a growing threat to socioeconomic systems at all geographic scales, from local to global. Each of the three essays in this paper looks at a different economic aspect of climate change, from the value of a blue carbon sink, the impact of renewable energy technology on property prices, and the effect of changing flood risk and coastal amenities on property prices. ☐ The first essay in this work looks at valuing changes in the economic value of carbon stored in tidal wetlands undergoing land cover change. Coastal wetland systems are highly effective at sequestering and storing carbon dioxide, and represent an important “Blue Carbon” sink. This essay first develops an economic model for valuing carbon sequestration and then applies the model to the Delaware Estuary. The annual value of net carbon sequestration is found to be between $5,000 and $44,000, and the Delaware estuary is losing between $165,000 and $7.33 million in sequestration potential each year, depending on discount rate used. The results of this study are useful for land management decisions in Delaware, and the model developed can be applied to valuing carbon sequestration in any ecosystem, provided sequestration rates are known. ☐ The second essay investigates the impact of the University of Delaware’s Wind Turbine in Lewes, Delaware, on local property prices. Wind turbine developments are frequently met with fervent local opposition, citing concerns over changing views, noise, and wildlife impacts, which may lead to reduced property prices. Using a hedonic valuation approach and advanced GIS techniques, this study finds no significant impact of the UD Wind Turbine on the majority of local property prices, with the exception of properties that are located closest to the turbine and are in full view. Results of this study are an important addition to the wind energy hedonic literature, contributing a study on the impacts of a single turbine to a literature that has largely focused on th…
author: Carr, Edward Willson
keywords: Applied sciences, Social sciences, Health and environmental sciences, Blue carbon, Coastal management, Environmental economics, Hedonic price model, Policy
date published: 2017
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:11:22Z
provider: University of Delaware
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Delaware

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.58088/bkhs-3282