Harvey Solar works diligently to provide accurate, well-vetted information about solar, the Project, and its potential impacts on the Hartford Township community. Internet sources, whether research publications, periodicals, or social media must be carefully reviewed for accuracy. The information below is intended to respond to many of the concerns and statements shared online and on social media. Harvey Solar believes it is important to address these statements and provide factual clarity to the community.

Common Incorrect Statements Regarding Property Values

You may read online or hear in your community similar inaccurate statements regarding property values.

“Having these ugly and toxic solar panel developments scattered all over Hartford will make it less appealing for potential buyers. Families, farmers and small businesses will be less likely to move into the area, causing property values to drop.”

FACTS AND CREDIBLE SOURCES

Unlike industrial or retail development, Harvey Solar will be a highly passive land use that will cause less disturbance to its neighbors than traditional farming: there will be no odor or dust and virtually no traffic, noise, or lights.  It will have a low profile, significant setbacks from homes, and vegetative screening.

Harvey Solar may have even less impact on homes than the existing agricultural operations, about which the Hartford Township Comprehensive Plan says: “Many farmers are approaching retirement and the real estate market will demand that many sell their farms to people who do not intend to continue farming.  This means that residential and commercial uses could be located near agricultural operations, and future residents and business owners should be aware of the inconveniences that can arise, such as odors, noises, and traffic conflicts.”[1]  

The Georgia State University study mentioned locally (as quoted above) actually has nothing to do with the possible effect solar farms built on agricultural land may have on the value of nearby rural home values.  Rather, it studied the effect on residential home values in a huge metropolitan area, not a rural and agricultural area, of different kinds of “industrial, office and retail” development—not solar.

Another study by the University of Rhode Island that is referenced by a news article being circulated on-line concluded that solar farms in rural areas, like that in which Harvey Solar is being developed, did not have a negative impact on property values.[2]  In fact, the news article itself notes that the study’s conclusions about impacts applied to “non-rural” and “suburban” areas.

Resources:

[1] Hartford Township Comprehensive Plan, p. 52-53, available at: http://hartfordtownship.net/pdf/Hartford_Township_Comprehensive_Plan.pdf.

[2] Guar, Vasundhara and Corey Lang, “Property Value Impacts of Commercial-Scale Solar Energy In Massachusetts and Rhode Island”, Department of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, University of Rhode Island, September 29, 2020.  (“...developments on farm and forest lands in rural areas have no impact on nearby properties” p.18), available at: https://web.uri.edu/coopext/files/PropertyValueImpactsOfSolar.pdf.