Utility-scale solar has no effect on nearby residential property values, Indiana research finds

If you live near a large-scale wind or solar project, a new research brief from Ball State University's Center for Business and Economic Research offers some reassurance about home values. The study looked at home sales in Indiana from 2004 to 2024, comparing prices before and after nearby utility-scale wind and solar projects started operating, and at different distances from those sites. It found no statistically significant negative effect on nearby home prices from either technology.

For the solar analysis, researchers checked sales at various distances from projects and also broke results down by project size, rural versus urban location, nearness to brownfields, and type of power provider. None of these factors showed a consistent drop in home values. A separate look at price trends over time also found no sign of a lasting decline in sale prices after wind or solar projects came online. The wind portion of the study covered three regions of Indiana and reached the same conclusion.

The researchers caution that these are average results across many properties, so an individual home could still see effects the broader data doesn't capture. They also note that local permitting and siting rules meant to limit impacts on neighboring properties may help explain why widespread harm to values hasn't shown up. The findings apply specifically to Indiana, so homeowners elsewhere considering a nearby renewable project may want to look for similar local or state-level data. The researchers are presenting the findings in a free public webinar on September 16, hosted by Purdue Extension and the Indiana Chapter of the American Planning Association, with registration required.