Do wind and solar farms tank home values? A 20-year study has an answer — SkimNews
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- Ball State University researchers analyzed Indiana home sales from 2004 through 2024 and found no statistically significant negative effect on residential prices near either commercial wind turbines or utility-scale solar farms.
- The wind analysis examined homes within 5 miles of turbines across three Indiana regions (Northwest, North Central, and East Central), while the solar study compared homes within 4 miles of utility-scale projects.
- One East Central wind model suggested homes within one mile of a turbine sold 11.5% less than comparable homes 3-5 miles away, and an initial solar model found homes near larger solar farms sold 6.2% less — but neither result held up under additional statistical tests.
- Homes within half a mile of solar projects owned by investor-owned utilities experienced a 7.9% increase in sale prices after the projects came online, possibly reflecting better project design or additional property tax revenue to the surrounding area.
- Researchers also tested project size, rural versus urban locations, proximity to brownfields, and the type of company supplying the power — none of those analyses showed a consistent negative effect on Indiana home prices.
- Dagney Faulk, director of research at Ball State's Center for Business and Economic Research, said the analysis lets community discussions about renewable energy siting be 'informed by what we have observed in housing markets around existing wind and solar developments across the state.'
- As of September 2025, 40 of Indiana's 92 counties had bans or other impediments affecting new wind development while 24 had restrictions on solar — a backdrop the study could inform, though researchers caution Indiana's permitting and setback rules may help explain the null results.
Why it matters: Local Indiana officials and homeowners pushing back on wind and solar projects frequently cite property values, and 40 of the state's 92 counties now have wind restrictions while 24 have solar restrictions. Ball State's dataset gives those debates 20 years of actual sales data rather than anecdote — though researchers stress the findings reflect Indiana's specific siting and setback rules, meaning individual project placement still matters.
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