Public preferences for energy sources in Italy

National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) are the primary roadmaps for European Union countries to achieve their 2030 targets for energy and climate, guiding investment decisions and a significant economic transformation. We conduct a discrete choice experiment to analyze preferences for different energy sources in Italy. We examine preferences regarding various attributes: the capacity shares of the most significant current and projected energy sources, the reliability of the supply of electricity, and cost. We use a latent class model to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for each attribute, finding that these preferences can be categorized into four groups. On average, we find overall support for the major renewable energy sources, opposition to fossil fuels and service interruptions, and strong opposition to nuclear power. Based on these results, we calculate the consumer surplus associated with the implementation of the national plan. The results show that the WTP aggregated over Italian households is lower than the investment levels estimated in the NECP. Spreading out the investments envisaged in the NECP over time can bring costs and benefits into better balance.