How would Cape Wind affect local property values?
The Army Corps of Engineers and the Minerals Management Service reached slightly different conclusions. The Army Corps of Engineers concluded that Cape Wind would not adversely affect local property values, based on several studies of property values in communities near U.S. and European wind farms and on the fact that the Cape Wind turbines would be located miles from shore, painted to blend in with the horizon, and lit with low-intensity FAA and Coast Guard warning lights, Click here2 to read the Corps analysis (Section 5.16.4.5, pages 5-274 to 5-276). The Minerals Management Service concluded that impacts of wind farms on local property values are likely to vary from project to project based on whether potential buyers find wind parks attractive or objectionable. As a result, MMS did not find a basis for judging that Cape Wind would either enhance or detract from Cape and Islands property values. Click here3 to read the MMS assessment.
