This study estimates the social benefits of water energy through the discrete choice experiment method. While international organizations utilize social benefits as a key indicator for project evaluation, their implementation remains insufficient in d...
This study estimates the social benefits of water energy through the discrete choice experiment method. While international organizations utilize social benefits as a key indicator for project evaluation, their implementation remains insufficient in domestic contexts. Although water energy generates diverse social values, these benefits are inadequately considered in actual domestic project development. Against this background, the research categorizes the social benefits generated by water energy into four components: greenhouse gas reduction, health damage reduction, environmental damage reduction, and tourism promotion. The study estimates these values through a nationwide survey of 1,366 respondents. The marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for each component was estimated based on electricity tariff standards. Building on this foundation, additional benefits were calculated according to two scenarios: transition from a coal-centered power generation structure or from the current energy mix to individual energy sources. The analysis results demonstrate that all water energy sources exhibit higher benefits compared to gas and nuclear power. Notably, hydropower provides the greatest additional benefits, yielding 88,568 KRW per household per month when transitioning from a coal-centered power generation structure and 43,720 KRW