Couple sitting in front of their home

Projects like Grass Lake Solar will bring numerous economic benefits to an area without making additional demands or having an impact on community services and can help move our country toward energy independence. A common question asked about solar energy projects – will it affect property values?

What's Important

According to numerous studies performed throughout the U.S., there is no evidence that solar projects have adversely impacted neighboring properties or agricultural land values. In fact, several valuation studies, including those performed by CohnReznick, LLP, indicate an increase in property values when compared to the value prior to installation. 

Below are some of the studies that have been conducted and are supported by real estate brokers and property assessors across the nation:

  • CohnReznick, LLP has studied sale prices of single-family homes and agricultural land properties adjacent to solar farms in more than 15 states and found that solar farms did not adversely affect property values in either the short or long term. Their conclusions were based upon before/after (appreciation rate) resale analysis.  

  • Accredited Rural Appraiser, Donald Fisher, who has served six years as Chair of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and has prepared several market studies examining the impact of solar on residential values, was quoted in a press release dated February 15, 2021, stating, “Most of the locations were in either suburban or rural areas, and all of these studies found either a neutral impact or, ironically, a positive impact, where values on properties after the installation of solar farms went up higher than time trends.” 

  • In 2020, a study was conducted on the effect of solar farms on agricultural land values in North Carolina by Dr. Nino Abashidze from the School of Economics at the Georgia Institute of Technology; published in Land Economics (2023). While also finding evidence that a solar farm may increase those agricultural land values, it was found that there were “no direct negative or positive spillover effect of a solar farm construction on nearby agricultural land values.” His study also noted, “evidence that suggests construction of a solar farm may create a small, positive, option-value for landowners that is capitalized into land prices. Specifically, after construction of a nearby solar farm, we find that agricultural land that is also located near transmission infrastructure may increase modestly in value.” 

Solar panel surrounded by vegetation

  • In a study conducted at the University of Texas at Austin, the impact on property values near 956 utility-scale solar installations was examined. The researchers, in partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, further surveyed approximately 400 property value assessors nationwide. It was found that solar facility features may have a positive impact on property values, such as location on land that previously had an unappealing use or the presence of trees or other visual barriers around the solar array.

Why it matters?

As construction is nearing completion, screening and landscaping are used, as appropriate, to help minimize any visual impact. Planting suitable vegetation in the right place, customized to the location and size of the project, ensures communities and the environment can benefit from more renewable energy development. This will also allow the land to return to agricultural use once the solar project’s lifetime has ended. 

Grass Lake Solar will bring numerous economic benefits to the community, including the potential for millions of dollars in tax revenue (or payments in lieu of taxes) which can be used to enhance schools, roads and essential services – enhancing both the quality of life and overall value of the community.