National Study Finds No Evidence of Wind Turbines Affecting Property Value

A recent national study finds that wind turbines have no effect on property values. But some western Massachusetts residents disagree. The study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab took data from 50,000 home sales among 27 counties in nine states including New York and Pennsylvania. The study found no evidence proving that the existence of wind turbines hurt property values or sales in areas within 10 miles of the turbines. Ben Hoen is the study’s lead author. He says the research looked at house size, age, and land area to make sure it wasn’t solely based on distance from a turbine. “If one only looks at the prices of homes and doesn’t control for these other characteristics that obviously do affect the price of homes, then one will potentially miss a very important set of differences,” said Hoen. Wind turbines have been subject of debate in the Berkshires and across Massachusetts since the state’s Green Communities Act was passed in 2008, as Governor Deval Patrick has set a goal of