At a Glance:

Coastal property owners may be concerned that offshore wind farms may erode their property value because of the loss of unadulterated ocean views. Evidence coming from studies of the Block Island Wind Farm and offshore wind in Denmark suggests that offshore wind does not affect property values, negatively or positively.

A Deeper Dive:

When it comes to property value impacts, in contrast to onshore wind, the only disamenity of concern about offshore wind is views. Two academic studies have looked at how housing prices are impacted by views of offshore wind. The first focuses on the Block Island Wind Farm and examines both how properties on the southern shore of Rhode Island are impacted by turbine views and how properties on Block Island are affected. The properties on the southern shore are about 16 miles from the Block Island Wind Farm, which is a similar distance as proposed wind farms will be from the coast. The authors compare properties with a view to without, but also accounting for other important features like views of the water and proximity to the coast. They find that property values are not impacted by views of turbines. While less policy relevant due to the close proximity, the analysis of Block Island properties also finds no impact of views of wind farms. The second study examines two large Danish wind farms, one of 72 turbines and one of 90 turbines, with turbines built between 5.6 and 2.2 miles off the coast. They compare properties that can see a wind farm either directly from the property or from a nearby beach to properties that have neither a direct view nor a view from a nearby beach. They find no change in home values due to views of offshore wind.

References

Dong, L., & Lang, C. (2022). Do Views of Offshore Wind Energy Detract? A Hedonic Price Analysis of the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island. Energy Policy, 167, 113060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113060

Jensen, C. U., Panduro, T. E., Lundhede, T. H., Nielsen, A. S. E., Dalsgaard, M., Thorsen, B. J. (2018). The impact of on-shore and off-shore wind turbine farms on property prices. Energy Policy, 116, 50–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.01.046