Effects of Waste-to-Energy Plants on China's Urbanization: Evidence from a Hedonic Price Analysis in Shenzhen

Along with the accelerated process of China's urbanization, the increasing urban population has put much pressure on solid waste disposal. A speeding-up development plan of waste incineration power generation has been launched in China, which aims to resolve the dilemma where many cities are besieged by waste. However, due to the potential impact on surrounding environment, the site selection of these facilities has encountered protests from local residents. The economic reflection of the non-market public sentiment precisely embodies the prices of surrounding real estate market. Taking Shenzhen city as an example, this paper applies a hedonic price model to evaluate its impact on local housing values. The results show that for every additional kilometer the property is away from WTE (waste-to-energy) plants, the value of real estate can increase by 1.30%. If the distance is restricted to within 5 km, the effect rises to 8.6%, which remarkably increases negative externality. In addition, the depreciation impacts on property in two regions of Shenzhen city are significantly different. Policies for reducing the negative effects of the WTE plants are recommended.