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Focusing the view: Improved methods for assessing viewshed impacts of onshore wind turbines

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  • Dong, Luran
  • Lang, Corey
  • Parent, Jason

Abstract

Onshore wind turbine capacity continues to grow and will only accelerate, though siting can be challenging given community opposition. We apply the hedonic valuation method with residential property sales data to assess nearby residents’ willingness to pay to avoid having views of turbines from their property. In doing so, we aim to improve methods of assessing viewshed impacts for turbines and other amenities and disamenities that have a visual component. Our recommended viewshed approach uses a Digital Surface Model (DSM), which accounts for trees and buildings that obstruct views. For comparison, we also create viewsheds based on bare-earth Digital Elevation Model (DEM), which has been more typically used other studies. Using data from New England, USA, we use a difference-in-differences identification strategy with treatment defined by the visibility of a wind turbine, while also controlling for proximity-based treatment effects. The results suggest that property values decline by 2.2%–2.5% when a wind turbine is visible, with larger impacts in urban and coastal areas. DEM methods misclassify viewshed for about 75% of properties, when compared to the DSM-based viewshed, and the resulting DEM-based valuation estimates are attenuated.

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  • Dong, Luran & Lang, Corey & Parent, Jason, 2024. "Focusing the view: Improved methods for assessing viewshed impacts of onshore wind turbines," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:128:y:2024:i:c:s0095069624001426
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2024.103068
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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).
    2. 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).
    3. 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.
    4. Dröes, Martijn I. & Koster, Hans R.A., 2021. "Wind turbines, solar farms, and house prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    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. 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.
    10. 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).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Onshore wind energy; Hedonic valuation; Property values; Viewshed analysis; LiDAR; Digital surface model;
    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
    • C18 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Methodolical Issues: General

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