Another one bites the dust.
A string of myths have besot wind energy for as many years as the industry is old. Yet the growing market for the most promising form of renewable energy has invited a great deal of scrutiny that has consistently erased fears and converted detractors. As the wind industry continues to grow opposition continues to shrink. The myths, once an unfortunate byproduct of a young technology, are evaporating.
A long-standing misconception of wind’s impact on property values, a topic once considered an unstudied gray zone, now joins the ranks of retired myths. A new study funded by the US Department of Energy and conducted by the Berkeley National Laboratory has conclusively shown that proximity to a wind farm, from 800 feet to 10 miles away, has no “consistent, measurable, [or] statistically significant effect on home sales prices.” Impact on property values has been a difficult issue for many people who support wind energy but were hesitant to introduce the technology to their own community. The conclusions of the DOE study should alleviate much, if not all, of that hesitancy.
Previous studies have alluded to the results of the DOE study but have fallen short of its expansive scope that has provided definitive answers. The research team collected data from nearly 7,500 sales of single-family homes situated within 10 miles of 24 existing wind facilities in nine different U.S. states and used eight different hedonic pricing models, as well as both repeat sales and sales volume models. In the case of each model, no statistical evidence pointing toward a negative impact on property values was uncovered.
You can read the entire 164-page study here. In the meantime, we are left to ponder which myth will fall next.
2 comments
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December 31, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Brian J. Walsh
The desensitization of home-buyers to both big and small wind efforts will erode naturally over time. We should remember that the automobile was looked at with disdain when it first appeared also – now, as we all know – they are everywhere. It won’t be long before energy-starved citizens take another, more positive look at energy production via wind in all it’s forms.
Brian J. Walsh
NetSolarAndWind.com
January 4, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Tim Lehman
Hi Brian,
Thanks for stopping by, and for the encouraging words. Here’s to a prosperous 2010 for wind energy.
Tim