Resources:
“Study of Residential Market Trends Surrounding Six Utility-Scale Solar Projects in Texas”
The saying says, “Our homes are our castles.” Nothing is more important to us, and for the vast majority of us our home is our largest investment, which is why we are so sensitive to anything that might affect its value. Our wealth is typically in our homes. Wind and solar energy developers almost always build their projects on land owned by private landowners. For them, these projects represent a tremendous economic opportunity. Developers are also sensitive to the concerns and needs of neighbors.
Too often opponents of these projects try to stimulate community opposition by frightening neighbors about the financial impacts new projects may have on them. The truth is that there is a tremendous amount of data demonstrating that these projects are not the threat that opponents would make them out to be. And, opponents over look the incredible tax revenue that flows to local governments and schools.
A carefully researched report from the Energy and Policy Institute (https://energyandpolicy.org/wind-energy-does-not-hurt-property-values/) captured relevant data from numerous studies and concluded that,
“Ten major studies in three countries of 1.3 million property transactions over 18 years of data have found no connection between wind farms and property values. Yet the fear of property value loss persists and is exploited by anti-wind campaigning groups in their attempts to turn local populaces against wind developments.
“By comparison, only two moderately reliable studies with some statistical significance found property value impacts, and they are both challenged in different ways. Five other often referenced studies are merely case studies with no statistical significance, done by appraisers who show strong evidence of bias, and in one case there is clear evidence that they ignored the reality of the property they appraised.
“The evidence that wind farms don’t harm property values is robust, methodologically sound and from reliable organizations. The evidence that wind farms harm property values is much weaker, methodologically challenged at best and usually from much less reliable organizations.”
USA Today addressed this issue in a recent story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/02/04/green-energy-fact-checked/72390472007/
The issue: Will wind turbines hurt nearby property values?
The answer: A study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory published in December found that, on average, homes located within one mile of a commercial wind turbine experience about an 11% decline in value following the announcement of a new commercial wind energy project. Homes between a mile and two miles were slightly affected, and any house more than two miles away wasn’t affected at all.
However, the effect was short-lived. Prices returned to pre-announcement levels within three to five years after the power project opened.
The study looked at nearly 500,000 home sales across 34 states near 428 different wind projects between 2005 and 2009. To be clear, during that time, wind turbines were not as tall as state-of-the-art turbines today. However, because modern turbines are taller and produce more energy per turbine, fewer of them are required, so the area of potential shadow and noise is smaller.
Research in the journal Energy Policy in 2022 showed that home values increased after wind projects began operating, though that is probably because taxes from the projects provided economic benefits to the area including better schools and infrastructure, making the community more enticing.