As is the case in many other countries, wind turbines are a hot topic in France. The installations are regularly the subject of litigation, as we have previously reported in our pages (see below).
One of the frequent criticisms made by opponents is that they lead to a reduction in the value of real estate located nearby.
In an attempt to provide some clarity to the debate, the French environment and energy management agency ADEME (Agence de l'environnement et de la maîtrise de l'énergie) has undertaken a major study of the issue.
The agency examined 1.5 million real estate sales between 2015 and 2020, which it cross-referenced with the installation dates of wind turbines.
ADEME concludes that wind power has no impact on the number of sales, and almost zero impact on the price of property. They consider the impact is close to that of other infrastructures (electricity pylons, relay antennas, etc.) and that there is a "considerable" gap between real and perceived impact.
According to the agency, the average impact on prices is only marginal - a decrease of around -1.5% of the value of a property, which the agency states is "5 to 15 times less than the margin of error of estate agents in rural areas."
Most of the coverage of the report in the press in France has reiterated this line, but a closer examination shows their conclusion to be more nuanced.
In particular, ADEME add a strong caveat, admitting that the study did not cover properties located less than 2km from a wind turbine, stating that "the low number of observations in the 0-2km range does not allow robust observations to be drawn (...) on a segment that is nevertheless the one where it would be logical to observe the strongest impacts". In other words, there were not enough sub 2km sales to be able to make an assessment.
The authors also admit their conclusions exclude the impact on properties of character, a "real estate segment on which wind turbines are likely to have the strongest negative impact," they state.
Although the agency admits a risk can persist for "exceptional" properties, (castle, manor, luxury residence, situation or remarkable building), there are few such properties amongst the general housing stock and they account for less than 10% of houses sold during the period 2015 to 2020. As a result, the agency was similarly unable to assess the impact on such properties.
In short, for properties of character and for those within 2km in of wind turbines, they are unable to say whether there is a reduction in the value of such properties.
Indeed, the authors themselves state: "we have identified two areas for further study - high end properties and properties in proximity to wind turbines."
The study also notes that the impact of wind power on real estate appears to be stronger in the north of France, which they consider might result from the high density of wind turbines, and on the Mediterranean coast, due to the coastal and tourist nature of the area and the high price of property.
To complement the statistical analysis, the agency also undertook surveys of professionals and residents living near wind turbines.
Although they wrote to 16 estate agents, only one provided a response. Not one notaire took part in the survey, yet both the notaires and the estate agents might have expected to have made a critically important contribution to the study.
Only 124 residents living less than 5km from wind turbines were interviewed with only 3% of them citing the proximity of wind turbines among the three main factors that devalue a property.
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