Assessing property value impacts near utility-scale solar in the Midwestern United States

Abstract

Utility-scale solar energy project proposals have been accelerating exponentially in the United States (U.S.) as the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables continues to unfold. While the emissions and economic related benefits of deploying large-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) for electricity generation are well documented, relatively less is known about their impact on nearby property values. This paper investigates the location of utility-scale solar facilities in the U.S. Midwest, the average home value in each relevant zip code, and whether the presence of a utility-scale solar project affects nearby property values in any manner. Our study includes 70 utility-scale solar facilities built in the Midwest from 2009 to 2022 using data from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Alongside housing value data from Zillow (i.e., Zestimate), we incorporate additional data, including solar project size in installed capacity, rurality, and state. Using the difference-in-differences method, our results indicate that utility-scale solar projects increase nearby property values by roughly 0.5–2.0 %. Moreover, our results show that smaller projects have more of a positive impact on nearby property values than projects that are 20 megawatts or larger. Ultimately, having a better understanding of how these larger-scale solar projects impact property values is essential for a variety of stakeholders – especially local officials and property owners – as they are increasingly faced with making decisions about whether to permit the construction of these facilities in their communities.