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10/05/2012 CanWEA responds to case study on wind turbines and property values
The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has responded to the release of a report titled ‘Case Study: Diminution in Value, Wind Turbine Analysis’ by Ben Lansink of Lansink Appraisals and Consulting. CanWEA has identified a number of concerns with the study and its conclusions and will be seeking clarification from the author.
“It is neither fair nor appropriate to draw from a single case study the general conclusion that wind energy is directly responsible for significant declines in property value,” said Chris Forrest, vice-president of Communications and Public Affairs. “The fact is the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is not altering property assessments in Ontario as a result of wind energy projects.”
In a recent Assessment Review Board hearing in Ontario focused on wind turbines and property values, MPAC argued that there was no evidence to show that construction and operation of wind turbines had reduced the current value of the landowner's property. A 2010 report by Canning Consultants Inc. that studied 83 properties in the Chatham-Kent region found that: "In the study area where wind farms were clearly visible, there was no empirical evidence to indicate that rural residential properties realized lower sale prices than similar residential properties within the same area that were outside of the view shed of a wind turbine." The Canning study, unlike Mr. Lansink's work, took into account the condition of each property.
Download the Canning report.
A comprehensive analysis by the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that proximity to wind energy facilities does not have a pervasive or widespread adverse effect on the value of nearby homes. Researchers examined 7,500 single-family property sales between 1996 and 2007, covering a time span from before the wind farms were announced to well after construction and operation.
Download the LBNL report.
“Wind energy is a growing source of reliable and clean electricity in Ontario. CanWEA and its members welcome a fact-informed discussion on all aspects of wind energy development and will continue to review all relevant and credible data on property values,” said Forrest.
More information on wind energy can be found here: www.canwea.ca/talkingaboutwind
For more information or interviews please contact:
Ulrike Kucera, Media Relations
CanWEA
613-234-8716 Ext. 228
Mobile: 613 876 4433
Lejla Latifovic, Communications
CanWEA
613-234-8716 Ext. 241
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