Wind energy is on pace to grow by 20 per cent in Canada by the end of 2012, with the addition of more than 1,200 MW of new, clean and affordable electricity. As Canada’s leader in wind energy, Ontario currently has 2,000 MW of installed wind capacity: or enough to power about 600,000 average homes each year.
We recognize that many Ontarians have questions about wind energy development in the province and in their community. One of the questions that may come to you as a local official is the very important issue of property values. As a responsible industry we continue to meet with provincial authorities, review all new and credible studies on the subject, and can assure you the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is not altering property assessments in Ontario as a result of wind energy projects.
In a recent Assessment Review Board hearing in Ontario focused on wind turbines and property values, MPAC argued that there was no evidence to show that construction and operation of wind turbines had reduced the current value of the landowner’s property.
As well, a comprehensive analysis by the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that proximity to wind energy facilities does not have a pervasive or widespread adverse effect on the value of nearby homes. Researchers examined 7,500 single-family property sales between 1996 and 2007, covering a time span from before the wind farms were announced to well after construction and operation.More information on property values can be found here: www.canwea.ca/talkingaboutwind
CanWEA is the national association for the wind energy industry in Canada. Our almost 400 members represent wind energy project developers, operators and owners, wind turbine manufacturers and component suppliers and a broad range of service providers to the industry. Ontario has numerous success stories across the province where wind energy projects have stimulated new investment and job creation while also providing significant economic benefits to rural communities.
I encourage you to engage with us directly should you have questions about wind energy development or to put you in touch with a peer who has experience with wind energy in Ontario or another province. Our Ontario Regional Director Brandy Giannetta can be reached by phone at 1.800.922.6932 x. 235 or via email at [email protected].
Robert Hornung,
President
Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA)