Your property value will fall.

There are many studies that conclude wind turbines negatively affect the price of surrounding properties up to many miles and this negative impact increases with the number of wind turbines [e.g.,[1]]  One study that is applicable to us concluded that properties that are most negatively impacted were “old houses and those in rural areas” with home prices in urban areas hardly affected.[2]

It is quite difficult to sort through all the scientific literature that has researched the impact of industrial wind turbine facilities on local property/home values.  This is because:

1. many of the studies are conducted in locations that are not like where we live (e.g., Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana); 

2. studies are older and are based on data when turbines were much smaller in height;  and

3. there are more studies that originate in Europe. Here we attempt make sense of key findings that are more applicable to our area.

What the Wind Industry wants you to Read. There is a 2009 study commonly cited by the wind industry and their supporters that concludes no change in local property values across the U.S.[3]  Beware of this study for reasons that include. 

• Supporters of the 2009 study claim the results are applicable to all of the U.S.; however, the study used data from only 9 states.  And 90% of the turbines included in this study are completely not relevant to our area, being located in Western Washington and Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Iowa. In fact, only 2% of the sample size was even close to the Upper Michigan, i.e., Door County Wisconsin.

• The conclusions are based on data collected over 12 years ago. Back then, the turbine height was very small. In fact, turbine hub height (the height from the turbine platform to the rotor) in the 2009 study ranged from 164 to 262 feet. The hub height of newer generations of turbines are now as high as 344 ft and 443 ft. http://www.aweo.org/windmodels.html

Study from Upstate New York.  This study surveyed 11,369 property transactions over a 9-year period in upstate New York.  The study site is a very rural, lightly populated area of small towns and villages that has a lower household income than the state average. Upstate New York is obviously not the Keweenaw, but at least the study location is not the Great Plains of Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.

In this study, two of three counties showed large declines in the value of their home/property. In fact, the presence of turbines in these two counties resulted in a property value decrease of 10 to 16%.  As expected, the results did differ with property distance from the turbines; however, properties 3 miles away still experienced a decrease in their home value of 2-8%. For our neighbors who may reside close to an industrial turbine, residents within 0.5 mile saw a decline in the sale value of their home/property up to 35%!

What we can Learn from Europe.  Unfortunately, there is a lack of studies conducted in the U.S. and specifically our local context along the Keweenaw Ridge.  More research on the impact of industrial wind turbines on local property values has been performed in Europe because industrial wind turbines have been there for a longer period of time than most of the U.S.   Therefore, we have to draw some of our conclusions from knowledge generated in Europe where there is a long history of data. From that research, here is what we can conclude on the impact large scale industrial wind turbines will have on your property values.

Turbine Height and the Number of Turbines Negatively Impacts Property Values.  Turbine height is important, and as we have shown on a different location of our web site, turbine height keeps increasing. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy states that “to achieve their national goals of wind production in the U.S.,  wind turbine systems and components will need to be larger.”  So we need to think not just about the impact of twelve 575-foot turbines, but also the impact that hundreds of even larger turbines may have on the value of our property/home. Our review of studies shows the following information on how turbine height and the number of turbines will negatively impact property values.

• A Swedish study (less populated than other European countries) studied the impact of wind turbines on property values over ten years. [4] That study concluded that: 1) large turbines and larger clusters of turbines result in negative property values, 2) the closer you are to an industrial wind turbine, the greater the impact on your property value, and 3) there is a significant impact on property values within a 5 mile distance from the turbines.

• The result of the Swedish study is supported by a study that showed property values being reduced by 3-6% when just 2 turbines were placed within 1 km of a home. However, the decrease in property value increased as the number of turbines increased.[5] 

• The asking price for properties whose view is strongly affected by the construction of wind turbines has been shown to decrease by 9–14%.[6]  Remember these turbines are 575-foot tall and on top of high points in their area. Thus, much of the community will see these from their neighborhoods.

[1] Jensen, C. U., Panduro, T. E., Lundhede, T. H., Nielsen, A. S. E., Dalsgaard, M., & Thorsen, B. J. (2018). The impact of on-shore and off-shore wind turbine farms on property prices. Energy Policy, 116, 50-59.

[2] Frondel, M., Kussel, G., Sommer, S., & Vance, C. (2019). Local cost for global benefit: The case of wind turbines (No. 791). Ruhr Economic Papers

[3] Hoen et al., The Impact of Wind Power Projects on Residential Property Values in the United States: A Multi-Site Hedonic Analysis. United States: N. p., 2009.

[4] Westlund, H., & Wilhelmsson, M. (2021). The socio-economic cost of wind turbines: A Swedish case study. Sustainability, 13(12), 6892.

[5] Jensen, C. U., Panduro, T. E., Lundhede, T. H., Nielsen, A. S. E., Dalsgaard, M., & Thorsen, B. J. (2018). The impact of on-shore and off-shore wind turbine farms on property prices. Energy Policy, 116, 50-59.

[6] Sunak, Y., & Madlener, R. (2016). The impact of wind farm visibility on property values: A spatial difference-in-differences analysis. Energy Economics, 55, 79-91.