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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Turbine study finds no link to home prices

Other, similar fixtures tend to lower values

Sandy Shore Associated Press

DENVER – Wind farms have no measurable effect on nearby property values, according to a government report published Wednesday.

In the latest study, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory spent three years examining nearly 7,500 sales of homes in 10 communities near two dozen wind farms in nine states. The findings, however, are unlikely to cool the debate over the placement of massive wind turbines that represent progress to some but an intrusion to others.

Questions about the integrity of the $500,000 Berkeley study were aired even before the report was released. New energy infrastructure almost always runs into opposition, and in many cases for good reason. Research shows that nearby coal-fired power plants, transmission lines or other permanent fixtures can suck the value out of a home.

The Berkeley study is not the first to show that wind turbines might be different, and previous studies have not tamped down opposition.

Researchers at the Berkeley National Laboratory looked at homes 800 feet to five miles from wind farms. About 1,000 sales involved homes that had views of the turbines, including sight lines through trees or just blade tips.

Researchers say they took into account the recession and other factors, such as the number of bedrooms in a home or location of schools, said Ryan Wiser, a study co-author and project manager for the Berkeley Lab. “That’s not to say there are not individual homes or small groups of homes that have been impacted by the presence of wind projects,” he said. If there is an impact, Wiser said, the frequency was too small to measure statistically.

Texas dwarfs any other state as far as wind power goes. Not far from Big Spring, about 300 miles west of Dallas, hundreds of turbines churn out power at one of the biggest wind farms in the country, without much effect on home prices, said real estate agent Sherri Key. Some potential buyers say turbines are too noisy, while others say “they’re so gorgeous,” Key said.