With serious discussion underway in Congress about the place of alternative energy sources in this country, several consumer misconceptions about wind energy must be put to rest. Among these misconceptions is the mistaken belief that a nearby wind farm will lower property values of area residents.

Numerous studies have concluded that wind farms do not have a negative impact on property values. The Renewable Energy Policy Project looked at home prices near nine different wind projects across the country and found, unequivocally, “that there is no support for the claim that wind development will harm property values.” The study even found that “for the great majority of projects the property values actually rose more quickly in the view shed than they did in the comparable community.”

Perhaps the greatest achievement in the debunking of the declining property values myth has come most recently from a study funded by the US Department of Energy and conducted by the Berkeley National Laboratory. Their expansive study has all but closed the book on this myth as it examined nearly 7,500 sales of single-family homes situated within 10 miles of 24 existing wind facilities in nine different U.S. states. The greatest takeaway here is that "neither the view of the wind facilities nor the distance of the home to those facilities is found to have any consistent, measurable, and statistically significant effect on home sales prices."

Earlier studies have alluded to these results. A report by the Bard Center for Environmental Policy studied properties located within a five mile radius of a wind farm in Madison County, New York, and “failed to uncover any statistically significant relationship between either proximity to or visibility of the wind farm and the sale price of homes,” even when looking only at houses within a one mile radius of the farm. Furthermore, the study cited Charles Warren’s report “Green on Green: Public Perceptions of Wind Power in Scotland and Ireland” which stated, “The data reveal a clear pattern of public attitudes becoming significantly more positive following personal experience of operational wind farms.” After reviewing all available studies to date, the National Association of Realtors further concluded in 2008 that “wind farms appear to have a minimal or at most transitory impact on real estate.”

A few studies that claim wind turbines negatively affect property values have been published, however these reports often utilize flawed research methods and none have shown statistically significant impacts. A presentation to the South Texas Plains Agriculture Wind & Wildlife Conference reported that “brokers in rural areas confirm that property values in areas of wind facilities are 10% -30% less than property not in areas of wind facilities,” but failed to provide a statistically useful data set for a sound conclusion.

Another study, by the Beacon Hill Institute, polled Cape Cod homeowners’ beliefs about their perceptions of the impacts on property values that a potential wind farm in Nantucket Sound might have and used these unsubstantiated guesses to argue that such a wind farm would result in lower property values.

The truth is that wind farms have not been shown to negatively impact property values. A wind farm can be an awe-inspiring asset to a community and does not come at the expense of home values. Rather, communities with nearby wind farms stand to benefit from an influx of jobs and through increased local income and tax revenue. As of last year, 85,000 people in the United States were employed by the wind industry and that number is only expected to grow. When essential construction materials, from concrete to sandwiches, are locally purchased, indirect jobs are created and money flows into the community.

Creating these green-collar jobs will not only help curb climate change, but it will put people to work and help turn around our economy. As the country’s leading large-scale community wind developer, National Wind takes pride in partnering with landowners and the community at large, involving them every step of the way in the development process and ensuring that turbines are responsibly and respectfully placed.

The essential task of harnessing renewable energy in order to fight climate change is too important to be waylaid by a myth.

Studies

The present research collected data on almost 7,500 sales of single family 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. Specifically, neither the view of the wind facilities nor the distance of the home to those facilities is found to have any consistent, measurable, and statistically significant effect on home sales prices."

There is no support for the claim that wind development will harm property values."

Furthermore,

"For the great majority of projects the property values actually rose more quickly in the view shed than they did in the comparable community."

[The study] failed to uncover any statistically significant relationship between either proximity to or visibility of the wind farm and the sale price of homes.”

Wind farms appear to have a minimal or at most transitory impact on real estate.”