IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v44y2014icp413-421.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The windy city: Property value impacts of wind turbines in an urban setting

Author

Listed:
  • Lang, Corey
  • Opaluch, James J.
  • Sfinarolakis, George

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of wind turbines on house values in Rhode Island. In contrast to wind farms surrounded by sparse development, in Rhode Island single turbines have been built in relatively high population dense areas. As a result, we observe 48,554 single-family, owner-occupied transactions within five miles of a turbine site, including 3254 within one mile, which is far more than most related studies. We estimate hedonic difference-in-differences models that allow for impacts of wind turbines by proximity, viewshed, and contrast with surrounding development. Across a wide variety of specifications, the results suggest that wind turbines have no statistically significant negative impacts on house prices, in either the post public announcement phase or post construction phase. Further, the lower bound of statistically possible impacts is still outweighed by the positive externalities generated from CO2 mitigation.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:44:y:2014:i:c:p:413-421
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2014.05.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988314001182
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2014.05.010?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. 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.
    2. Mulvaney, Kate K. & Woodson, Patrick & Prokopy, Linda Stalker, 2013. "A tale of three counties: Understanding wind development in the rural Midwestern United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 322-330.
    3. Stephanie Riegg Cellini & Fernando Ferreira & Jesse Rothstein, 2010. "The Value of School Facility Investments: Evidence from a Dynamic Regression Discontinuity Design," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(1), pages 215-261.
    4. Pope, Jaren C., 2008. "Buyer information and the hedonic: The impact of a seller disclosure on the implicit price for airport noise," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 498-516, March.
    5. Brown, Jason P. & Pender, John & Wiser, Ryan & Lantz, Eric & Hoen, Ben, 2012. "Ex post analysis of economic impacts from wind power development in U.S. counties," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1743-1754.
    6. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    7. H. Spencer Banzhaf & Randall P. Walsh, 2008. "Do People Vote with Their Feet? An Empirical Test of Tiebout," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(3), pages 843-863, June.
    8. Lucas W. Davis, 2011. "The Effect of Power Plants on Local Housing Values and Rents," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1391-1402, November.
    9. Corey Lang, 2012. "The Dynamics of House Price Capitalization and Locational Sorting: Evidence from Air Quality Changes," Working Papers 12-22, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    10. Firestone, Jeremy & Kempton, Willett, 2007. "Public opinion about large offshore wind power: Underlying factors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1584-1598, March.
    11. Slattery, Michael C. & Lantz, Eric & Johnson, Becky L., 2011. "State and local economic impacts from wind energy projects: Texas case study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7930-7940.
    12. Kelly C. Bishop & Alvin D. Murphy, 2011. "Estimating the Willingness to Pay to Avoid Violent Crime: A Dynamic Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 625-629, May.
    13. 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.
    14. Corey Lang, 2014. "Do weather fluctuations cause people to seek information about climate change?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 291-303, August.
    15. Sally Sims & Peter Dent, 2007. "Property stigma: wind farms are just the latest fashion," Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(6), pages 626-651, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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.
    2. Zerrahn, Alexander, 2017. "Wind Power and Externalities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 245-260.
    3. 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).
    4. Nicolai V. Kuminoff & Jaren C. Pope, 2014. "Do “Capitalization Effects” For Public Goods Reveal The Public'S Willingness To Pay?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1227-1250, November.
    5. Lang, Corey, 2015. "The dynamics of house price responsiveness and locational sorting: Evidence from air quality changes," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 71-82.
    6. Corey Lang, 2012. "The Dynamics of House Price Capitalization and Locational Sorting: Evidence from Air Quality Changes," Working Papers 12-22, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    7. Schumacher, Kim & Yang, Zhuoxiang, 2018. "The determinants of wind energy growth in the United States: Drivers and barriers to state-level development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 1-13.
    8. 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.
    9. Zerrahn, Alexander & Krekel, Christian, 2015. "Sowing the Wind and Reaping the Whirlwind? The Effect of Wind Turbines on Residential Well-Being," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112956, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    10. 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.
    11. Kathrine Graevenitz & Daniel Römer & Alexander Rohlf, 2018. "The Effect of Emission Information on Housing Prices: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 69(1), pages 23-74, January.
    12. Sunak, Yasin & Madlener, Reinhard, 2014. "Local Impacts of Wind Farms on Property Values: A Spatial Difference-in-Differences Analysis," FCN Working Papers 1/2014, E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN), revised Oct 2014.
    13. Nils May & Øivind A. Nilsen, 2019. "The Local Economic Impact of Wind Power Deployment," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 75(1), pages 56-92.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. Welsch, Heinz, 2016. "Electricity Externalities, Siting, and the Energy Mix: A Survey," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 10(1), pages 57-94, November.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. Abbott, Joshua K. & Allen Klaiber, H., 2013. "The value of water as an urban club good: A matching approach to community-provided lakes," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 208-224.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wind energy; Hedonic valuation; Viewshed; Rhode Island;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

    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:eneeco:v:44:y:2014:i:c:p:413-421. 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/eneco .

    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.