IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v185y2024ics0301421523004226.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Commercial wind turbines and residential home values: New evidence from the universe of land-based wind projects in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Brunner, Eric J.
  • Hoen, Ben
  • Rand, Joe
  • Schwegman, David

Abstract

We examine the impact of proximity to land-based commercial wind turbines on residential home values in the United States using data on the universe of commercial wind turbines and residential property transactions from 2005 to 2020. Using event study and difference-in-differences identification strategies we find that, on average, homes located within 1 mile of a commercial wind turbine experience approximately an 11% decline in value following the announcement of a new commercial wind energy project, relative to counterfactual homes located 3 to 5 miles away. Event study estimates also reveal important dynamics in the evolution of home values, with property values first declining following project announcement, and then recovering post project construction, with property value impacts becoming relatively small (∼2%) and statistically insignificant 9 years or more after project announcement (roughly 5 years after operation began). Homes located within 1–2 miles of a commercial wind turbine experience much smaller impacts and homes located farther than 2 miles away are unaffected. Our results are primarily driven by wind projects located in urban counties with populations greater than 250,000.

Suggested Citation

  • Brunner, Eric J. & Hoen, Ben & Rand, Joe & Schwegman, David, 2024. "Commercial wind turbines and residential home values: New evidence from the universe of land-based wind projects in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:185:y:2024:i:c:s0301421523004226
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113837
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421523004226
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113837?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mills, Sarah Banas & Bessette, Douglas & Smith, Hannah, 2019. "Exploring landowners’ post-construction changes in perceptions of wind energy in Michigan," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 754-762.
    2. Dröes, Martijn I. & Koster, Hans R.A., 2021. "Wind turbines, solar farms, and house prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    3. Gibbons, Stephen, 2015. "Gone with the wind: Valuing the visual impacts of wind turbines through house prices," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 177-196.
    4. Jensen, Cathrine Ulla & Panduro, Toke Emil & Lundhede, Thomas Hedemark & Nielsen, Anne Sofie Elberg & Dalsgaard, Mette & Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark, 2018. "The impact of on-shore and off-shore wind turbine farms on property prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 50-59.
    5. Ben Hoen & Ryan Wiser & Peter Cappers & Mark Thayer & Gautam Sethi, 2011. "Wind Energy Facilities and Residential Properties: The Effect of Proximity and View on Sales Prices," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 33(3), pages 279-316.
    6. Hoen, Ben & Firestone, Jeremy & Rand, Joseph & Elliot, Debi & Hübner, Gundula & Pohl, Johannes & Wiser, Ryan & Lantz, Eric & Haac, T. Ryan & Kaliski, Ken, 2019. "Attitudes of U.S. Wind Turbine Neighbors: Analysis of a Nationwide Survey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    7. Dröes, Martijn I. & Koster, Hans R.A., 2016. "Renewable energy and negative externalities: The effect of wind turbines on house prices," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 121-141.
    8. Atif Mian & Amir Sufi & Francesco Trebbi, 2015. "Foreclosures, House Prices, and the Real Economy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(6), pages 2587-2634, December.
    9. Eric J. Brunner & David J. Schwegman, 2022. "Windfall revenues from windfarms: How do county governments respond to increases in the local tax base induced by wind energy installations?," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 93-113, September.
    10. Jacquet, Jeffrey B., 2012. "Landowner attitudes toward natural gas and wind farm development in northern Pennsylvania," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 677-688.
    11. Doruk Cengiz & Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner & Ben Zipperer, 2019. "The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1405-1454.
    12. Richard J. Vyn, 2018. "Property Value Impacts of Wind Turbines and the Influence of Attitudes toward Wind Energy," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 94(4), pages 496-516.
    13. Piet Eichholtz & Nils Kok & Mike Langen & Daan Vulpen, 2023. "Clean Electricity, Dirty Electricity: The Effect on Local House Prices," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 66(4), pages 743-777, May.
    14. Krekel, Christian & Zerrahn, Alexander, 2017. "Does the presence of wind turbines have negative externalities for people in their surroundings? Evidence from well-being data," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 221-238.
    15. Richard J. Vyn & Ryan M. McCullough, 2014. "The Effects of Wind Turbines on Property Values in Ontario: Does Public Perception Match Empirical Evidence?," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 62(3), pages 365-392, September.
    16. Leer Jørgensen, Marie & Anker, Helle Tegner & Lassen, Jesper, 2020. "Distributive fairness and local acceptance of wind turbines: The role of compensation schemes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    17. Brunner, Eric J. & Schwegman, David J., 2022. "Commercial wind energy installations and local economic development: Evidence from U.S. counties," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    18. Sun, Liyang & Abraham, Sarah, 2021. "Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 175-199.
    19. Ben Hoen & Carol Atkinson-Palombo, 2016. "Wind Turbines, Amenities and Disamenities: A Study of Home Value Impacts in Densely Populated Massachusetts," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 38(4), pages 473-504.
    20. Jarvis, Stephen, 2021. "The economic costs of NIMBYism: evidence from renewable energy projects," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113653, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    21. Cathrine Ulla Jensen & Toke Emil Panduro & Thomas Hedemark Lundhede, 2014. "The Vindication of Don Quixote: The Impact of Noise and Visual Pollution from Wind Turbines," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 90(4), pages 668-682.
    22. Müller, Florian Johannes Yanic & Leschinger, Valentin & Hübner, Gundula & Pohl, Johannes, 2023. "Understanding subjective and situational factors of wind turbine noise annoyance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    23. Charles M. Tiebout, 1956. "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(5), pages 416-416.
    24. Sunak, Yasin & Madlener, Reinhard, 2016. "The impact of wind farm visibility on property values: A spatial difference-in-differences analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 79-91.
    25. Brunner, Eric & Hoen, Ben & Hyman, Joshua, 2022. "School district revenue shocks, resource allocations, and student achievement: Evidence from the universe of U.S. wind energy installations," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    26. Ben Hoen & Jason Brown & Thomas Jackson & Mark Thayer & Ryan Wiser & Peter Cappers, 2015. "Spatial Hedonic Analysis of the Effects of US Wind Energy Facilities on Surrounding Property Values," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 22-51, July.
    27. García, Jorge H. & Cherry, Todd L. & Kallbekken, Steffen & Torvanger, Asbjørn, 2016. "Willingness to accept local wind energy development: Does the compensation mechanism matter?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 165-173.
    28. Janhunen, Sari & Hujala, Maija & Pätäri, Satu, 2014. "Owners of second homes, locals and their attitudes towards future rural wind farm," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 450-460.
    29. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    30. Stewart Fast & Warren Mabee & Jamie Baxter & Tanya Christidis & Liz Driver & Stephen Hill & J. J. McMurtry & Melody Tomkow, 2016. "Lessons learned from Ontario wind energy disputes," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 1(2), pages 1-7, February.
    31. Heintzelman, Martin D. & Vyn, Richard J. & Guth, Sarah, 2017. "Understanding the Amenity Impacts of Wind Development on an International Border," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 195-206.
    32. Cathrine Ulla Jensen & Toke Emil Panduro & Thomas Hedemark Lundhede, 2014. "The Vindication of Don Quixote: The Impact of Noise and Visual Pollution from Wind Turbines," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 90(4), pages 668-682.
    33. Martin D. Heintzelman & Carrie M. Tuttle, 2012. "Values in the Wind: A Hedonic Analysis of Wind Power Facilities," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 88(3), pages 571-588.
    34. Lang, Corey & Opaluch, James J. & Sfinarolakis, George, 2014. "The windy city: Property value impacts of wind turbines in an urban setting," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 413-421.
    35. Irene van Kamp & Frits van den Berg, 2021. "Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Sound: An Update," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-29, August.
    36. George Parsons & Martin D. Heintzelman, 2022. "The Effect of Wind Power Projects on Property Values: A Decade (2011–2021) of Hedonic Price Analysis," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 16(1), pages 93-170, June.
    37. Dong, Luran & Gaur, Vasundhara & Lang, Corey, 2023. "Property value impacts of onshore wind energy in New England: The importance of spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    38. Yasin Sunak & Reinhard Madlener, 2017. "The impact of wind farms on property values: A locally weighted hedonic pricing model," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(2), pages 423-444, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Winikoff, Justin B. & Maguire, Karen, 2024. "The Role of Commercial Energy Payments in Agricultural Producer Income," Economic Information Bulletin 342468, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Goetz, Stephan J, 2025. "Carbon, Growth and Politics: U.S. States in the Early 21st Century," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 54(3), pages 197-214.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hans Westlund & Mats Wilhelmsson, 2021. "The Socio-Economic Cost of Wind Turbines: A Swedish Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Dong, Luran & Gaur, Vasundhara & Lang, Corey, 2023. "Property value impacts of onshore wind energy in New England: The importance of spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    3. Jensen, Cathrine Ulla & Panduro, Toke Emil & Lundhede, Thomas Hedemark & Nielsen, Anne Sofie Elberg & Dalsgaard, Mette & Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark, 2018. "The impact of on-shore and off-shore wind turbine farms on property prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 50-59.
    4. Zerrahn, Alexander, 2017. "Wind Power and Externalities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 245-260.
    5. Frondel, Manuel & Kussel, Gerhard & Sommer, Stephan & Vance, Colin, 2019. "Local cost for global benefit: The case of wind turbines," Ruhr Economic Papers 791, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen, revised 2019.
    6. Dong, Luran & Lang, Corey, 2022. "Do views of offshore wind energy detract? A hedonic price analysis of the Block Island wind farm in Rhode Island," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    7. Lehmann, Paul & Reutter, Felix & Tafarte, Philip, 2021. "Optimal siting of onshore wind turbines: Local disamenities matter," UFZ Discussion Papers 4/2021, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    8. Yingdan Mei & Pengfei Liu & Lina Meng & Lu Lin, 2024. "Evaluate the Impacts of Wind Farm Facilities on Land Values with Geographically-Linked Microdata in China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(2), pages 465-489, February.
    9. Marvin Schütt, 2024. "Wind Turbines and Property Values: A Meta-Regression Analysis," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(1), pages 1-43, January.
    10. Pates, Nicholas J. & Kim, GwanSeon & Mark, Tyler B. & Ritter, Matthias, 2020. "Windfalls or wind falls? The Local Effects of Turbine Development on US Agricultural Land Values," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304611, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Dröes, Martijn I. & Koster, Hans R.A., 2021. "Wind turbines, solar farms, and house prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    12. Christian Krekel & Johannes Rode & Alexander Roth, 2023. "Do wind turbines have adverse health impacts," CEP Discussion Papers dp1950, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    13. Wehrle, Sebastian & Gruber, Katharina & Schmidt, Johannes, 2021. "The cost of undisturbed landscapes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    14. Heintzelman, Martin D. & Vyn, Richard J. & Guth, Sarah, 2017. "Understanding the Amenity Impacts of Wind Development on an International Border," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 195-206.
    15. Olivier JOALLAND & Tina RAMBONILAZA, 2017. "Valeur touristique des aménités environnementales et nuisances associées aux infrastructures d’énergie renouvelable : une approche hédonique spatiale," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 46, pages 93-115.
    16. Shoeib, Eman Ahmed Hamed & Hamin Infield, Elisabeth & Renski, Henry C., 2021. "Measuring the impacts of wind energy projects on U.S. rural counties’ community services and cost of living," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    17. Lehmann, Paul & Reutter, Felix & Tafarte, Philip, 2023. "Optimal siting of onshore wind turbines: Local disamenities matter," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    18. Brunner, Eric J. & Schwegman, David J., 2022. "Commercial wind energy installations and local economic development: Evidence from U.S. counties," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    19. Claudia Serra-Sala & Clàudia Serra-Sala, 2024. "Harnessing the Wind: The Impact of Wind Farm Development on Municipal Finances," CESifo Working Paper Series 11283, CESifo.
    20. Ki, Jaehong & Yun, Sun-Jin & Kim, Woo-Chang & Oh, Subin & Ha, Jihun & Hwangbo, Eunyoung & Lee, Hyoeun & Shin, Sumin & Yoon, Seulki & Youn, Hyewon, 2022. "Local residents’ attitudes about wind farms and associated noise annoyance in South Korea," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wind turbines; House price capitalization; Externalities; Property values; Hedonic;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:185:y:2024:i:c:s0301421523004226. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.