Towers, Turbines and Transmission Lines: Impacts on Property Value

From the Foreword by Dr Valmond Ghyoot, Emeritus Professor of Real Estate, University of South Africa:

‘The valuation profession, the legal profession, property industry participants in general and students will welcome publication of this book. Investors, environmental groups and affected property owners will find essential information for use in their decision-making, development objections and claims. My hope is that [it] will provide answers where required and that it will help to improve the professional standard of valuations and appraisals internationally. I trust that it will also raise the standard of testimony in damages cases. If so, the editors and contributors will have succeeded in documenting the state of the art in this relatively unexplored terrain.’

As a reference source, this book will help quantify the negative impacts on property values of high voltage overhead transmission lines, cell phone towers, and wind turbines. It gives a modern perspective of the concerns property owners have about the siting of industrial structures used to transmit or generate various forms of energy and how these concerns impact on property values.

Studies reveal concerns the public have about devices and structures that emit electromagnetic fields (EMFs) due to their potential health hazards. . Despite some research reports suggesting there are no potential adverse health hazards from high voltage overhead transmission lines (HVOTLs) and towers, there is still on-going concern about the siting of these structures due to fears of health risks from exposure to EMFs, changes in neighbourhood aesthetics and loss in property values. The siting of wind turbines is also receiving community opposition due to noise, light flicker, aesthetic concerns, and loss in property values. The extent to which such attitudes are reflected in lower property values is not well understood.

Towers, Turbines and Transmission Lines: Impacts on Property Value outlines results of studies conducted in the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand and offers guidance to valuers as well as to property/real estate appraisal students and property owners around the world. The book provides defensible tools that are becoming widely accepted to assess the effect that these environmental detriments have on property prices.