Group 02

Balancing Efficiency and Equity in New York Wind Energy Expansion

Author
Affiliation

Byeong-Hak Choe

SUNY Geneseo

Published

November 25, 2025

Dear Group 2,

Thank you again for your thoughtful Research Kick-off Report on New York wind energy expansion. You’ve framed the project well around the tension between efficiency (emissions reductions, energy security) and equity (who bears local costs). The core environmental economics ideas—externalities, distributional impacts, and fairness in policy design—are clear. The potential for a strong final proposal is high if you sharpen the efficiency–equity trade-off and connect your conceptual framework to a few concrete examples from the literature.

Next Steps for Your Final Proposal

You are working toward both the presentation and the final proposal. Focus on economic reasoning supported by existing literature and descriptive evidence.

  • Emphasize environmental economics mechanisms
    In the proposal, make sure you clearly explain:
    • How negative local externalities (noise, visual impacts, possible property value effects) interact with positive global externalities (emissions reductions).
    • How total net benefits can be positive while the distribution of costs and benefits may still be controversial.
  • Use evidence from the literature
    Draw on existing research related to environmental and energy economics. In particular, consider citing:
  • Add simple visual and descriptive elements from references
    To motivate your research in the presentation slides:
    • Include one or two visualizations taken or adapted from your references (e.g., a figure showing estimated property value effects over distance or time, or a map/chart of New York wind capacity).
    • Highlight a few key descriptive or statistical results in bullet form (e.g., “Estimated impact on nearby property values is X% and fades beyond Y km,” “Wind currently provides Z% of New York’s electricity”).
      The goal is to illustrate and support your environmental economics story, not to run your own econometrics.
  • Connect to policy design and equity
    In your final proposal, reserve space to discuss:
    • What kinds of compensation mechanisms or community benefit schemes might make efficient projects more acceptable and equitable.
    • How policy can be designed so that communities that bear more of the local costs also share more of the benefits (e.g., community ownership shares, local tax relief, or rate discounts).

Questions for Your Team to Think About

You do not need to answer all of these, but they may help you refine your narrative and policy recommendations.

a. Efficiency–Equity Trade-offs

  • When wind projects lower emissions and energy costs overall but impose local visual and noise costs, how should policymakers balance efficiency (total net benefits) and equity (who bears the costs)?
  • Is there a point where total net benefits are clearly positive, but the distribution of burdens is so unequal that the project should be reconsidered or redesigned?

b. Citizens, Information, and Legitimacy

  • Imagine you live in a community where a wind project is proposed nearby. What information would you want (health, noise, property values, climate benefits) before you feel the process is legitimate?
  • How can results from studies like the PNAS article on property values help reduce misinformation or fear about local impacts?

c. Compensation and Institutional Design

  • Should local communities receive direct benefits from nearby wind projects (e.g., community funds, reduced local electricity rates, local tax relief, or partial ownership)?
  • How would you justify your preferred approach from:
    • An efficiency perspective (encouraging socially optimal wind siting and investment), and
    • An equity perspective (who should be compensated, and for what type of harm)?

Best,
Byeong-Hak

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