# Consumer Preferences for Wood-Pellet-Based Green Pricing Programs in the Eastern United States
## 5 Conclusions  
In the US, existing co-firing plants have an important role to play in energy generation despite emerging renewable energy technologies. Wood pellets, which are mainly exported, can be redirected for use in co-firing coal plants. One way to sustainably use wood pellets for co-firing is to create consumer supported GPPs. Our research investigates the public's preferences for the attributes of hypothetical GPPs. To estimate these values, 2000 respondents were surveyed using a BWC model for analysis. Low levels of awareness of (28.56%) and current enrollment (13.42%) in GPPs shows that there is a dire need for public education and exposure to promote GPPs. The BWC model, however, shows that respondents value attributes of GPPs despite low awareness levels, and are willing to pay a premium for certain attributes. Overall, the BWS analysis shows that residents in all five states highly value flexible contracts, in-state energy generation, and the reduction of carbon emission attributes. The results of the BC experiment, however, show that respondents are most willing to pay for a shorter contract length, followed by the reduction of carbon emissions, variability of payments, flexible contracts, and in-state energy generation, respectively. Based on these confounding results, we believe that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution for GPPs. Consequently, the focus should be on state or regional policy development as opposed to broad-based national energy policies. From a policy standpoint, the outcome of this study demonstrates that energy consumer support for wood pellet co-firing energy generation can be achieved by creating GPPs to meet consumers' needs and creating real customer value. Decision makers can use this study's findings as evidence for the potential of biomass GPPs. An amenable policy could help support GPPs by removing bottlenecks that facilitate easier access to wood pellets across state lines and meet market demands resulting in biomass market price fluctuations. Regulating of the carbon market, providing suitable subsidies for co-firing companies that introduce GPPs, and increasing public education of GPPs are key to successful outcomes. Tax breaks and government assistance for independent marketers can further assist in making GPPs more popular among residents. Since there are few incentives for the production or application of biomass co-firing such as the PTC [15]. The introduction of GPPs as proposed in our study will introduce new avenues for income and motivation for utility companies to increase their utilization of biomass (wood pellets) for co-firing. As it stands, the only motivation for the use of the wood pellet is competitive coal prices. Consequently, incentives such as subsidies, low interest loans, grants, rebates, and financial plans for the retrofitting and conversion of plants to enable wood pellet co-firing, should be considered by decision makers to hasten the process of the adoption of wood pellets in co-firing. Currently, 17% of coal-fired plants may close due to failure to comply with existing RPS mandates. These closures may result in job losses and higher electricity prices [15]. GPPs as proposed in our study present a dual solution to coal power energy providers. These hypothetical programs provide a framework for supporting the transition from non-compliance to a more environmentally friendly co-firing wood pellet-based system to meet the RPS mandates. For existing and prospective energy generating companies with co-firing capabilities, the results from this study suggest that there is an existing marketing potential, based on consumer willingness to pay for GPPs. Utility companies can take advantage of co-firing technologies by applying market strategies that weigh the intricate balance between the reduction of carbon emissions and ensuring suitable return on investments.