Proximity to a wind power project does not generally hurt property values, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) study.
The study assessed nearly 7,500 single-family houses and applied statistical methods and 10 pricing models to draw its conclusions.
Homes included in the analysis were located near 24 wind power facilities in nine states, and ranged from 800 feet to 10 miles from the nearest wind facility. The home sales examined took place between 1996 and 2007, extending from before projects were announced to after construction was completed and full operation was under way, researchers said in a statement.
Each home was also visited during the course of the study to collect data on project views and other information, according to the LBNL researchers.
‘Neither the view of wind energy facilities nor the distance of the home to those facilities was found to have any consistent, measurable and significant effect on the selling prices of nearby homes,’ says Ben Hoen, the report's co-author in a statement. ‘No matter how we looked at the data, the same result kept coming back – no evidence of widespread impacts.’
SOURCE: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
