Do property values fall when wind turbines appear nearby? :: Cape Wind :: America's First Offshore Wind Farm on Nantucket Sound

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Do property values fall when wind turbines appear nearby?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
...The Hoen and Wiser study will have a huge sample size -- 3,500 to 5,000 home sales near 8 to 10 operating wind turbine projects.

Earlier this month at the American Wind Energy Association's annual wind energy conference, Hoen presented the team's preliminary findings. The study is not quite half done. After looking at four sites with a total sample size of 2,195 home sales, the Lawrence Berkeley team found "no statistical evidence that homes within 4 to 7 miles of a facility are affected adversely."

The team is now moving on to the next stage, looking at another four to six sites. Said Hoen: "These are rigorous results. The model seems to be working very well."

Wiser emphasizes the importance of scientific rigor. "All that's existed to date has been hearsay," he says, "maybe it's informed hearsay, maybe it's uninformed. Talking to homeowners who have never seen a wind farm, it's hard for the imagination to really credibly tell you what that thing might look like."

Note: Click here to read this Op Ed by Wendy Williams in Cape Cod Today

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