The Impact of Wind Power Projects on Residential Property Values in the United States: A Multi-Site Hedonic Analysis

Abstract

With wind energy expanding rapidly in the U.S. and abroad, and with an increasing number of communities considering wind power development nearby, there is an urgent need to empirically investigate common community concerns about wind project development. The concern that property values will be adversely affected by wind energy facilities is commonly put forth by stakeholders. Although this concern is not unreasonable, given property value impacts that have been found near high voltage transmission lines and other electric generation facilities, the impacts of wind energy facilities on residential property values had not previously been investigated thoroughly. The present research collected data on almost 7,500 sales of singlefamily homes situated within 10 miles of 24 existing wind facilities in nine different U.S. states. The conclusions of the study are drawn from eight different hedonic pricing models, as well as both repeat sales and sales volume models. The various analyses are strongly consistent in that none of the models uncovers conclusive evidence of the existence of any widespread property value impacts that might be present in communities surrounding wind energy facilities.

The Effects of Wind Turbines on Property Values in Ontario: Does Public Perception Match Empirical Evidence?

“…The results of the repeat sales models, based on 2,008 sales of rural residential properties (935 properties) and 292 sales of farm properties (141 properties), are similar to those of the full sample models, where no statistically significant effects of turbines on property values are found (see column 6 of Tables 7 and 8). 21 Similarity of results between full sample models and repeat sales models has previously been demonstrated in related hedonic studies on the effects of wind turbines (Hoen et al 2009;Heintzelman and Tuttle 2012). However, while supportive of our primary results, the results of the repeat sales analysis should be viewed with considerable caution, as the lack of significance may be due, in part, to limited observations in close proximity to turbines.…”

“…While earlier literature also examined the issue of noise, the reduced emphasis on the noise disamenity appears to reflect improvements in turbine technology (Moran and Sherrington 2007). As noted by Hoen et al (2009), the impact of proximity to turbines may extend beyond the visual disamenity effect to include nuisance effects such as shadow flicker and health concerns. Each of these effects, whether real or perceived, may also impact property values.…”

Residential Photovoltaic Energy Systems in California: The Effect on Home Sales Prices

“…In the base models, four sets of parameters are estimated, namely coefficients on the variables of interest-the focus of the research (e.g., if the home has PV or not, and the size of the PV system) and coefficients for three sets of controls that include: (1) home and site characteristics; (2) geographic (census block group) fixed effects; and (3) temporal (year and quarter) fixed effects. The first of these sets of control variables accounts for differences across the data set in home and site-specific characteristics, including the age of the home (linear and squared), the total square feet of living area, and the relative elevation of the home (in feet) to other homes in the block group; the latter variable serves as a proxy for "scenic vista," a value-influencing characteristic (see, e.g., Hoen et al 2009). Additionally, the size of the property in acres was entered into the model in spline form to account for different valuations of less than 1 acre and greater than 1 acre.…”

Wind farm layout optimization under uncertainty with landowners' financial and noise concerns

“….1 Property value and support for wind farm projects have congruent trends [4,5]. [1], and identified significant challenges such as reducing the cost of wind energy.…”

“…This trend is reflected in the associated property values. Hoen et al [5] find that during the development stages of the wind facility, the value of nearby property decreases. However, when all the construction is completed, the property value increases again.…”