A full gallery last night at Prince Edward County Council. The crowd was made up of local real estate professionals, and tourism business operators. They are dead set against industrial wind farms anywhere near homes and business in the County.

The group fighting Shear Wind's Glen Dhu turbine project says property values could drop in the area if the development goes ahead. Susan Overmyer, media relations for the Eco Awareness Society, said several recent studies show home values could deteriorate by "20 to 30 per cent" if turbines are built in the proposed area near Baileys Brook.

A couple from West Prince has proof from the government their property has dropped in value since wind turbines were put up near their home. ...Beverly Howard told CBC News Monday there are now five new turbines within sight of their home, the closest about 500 metres away. "If you're sitting out on your deck, they're noisy, if you're out gardening they're noisy," she said.

Klundert said many home builders strive for energy efficiency in their projects and are generally supportive of wind energy as a green technology. However, 100-metre-high wind turbines aren't going to enhance home sales if located too close to planned residential areas, he said. Wind turbines are probably comparable to hydro transmission towers in terms of negative impacts on nearby property values, he said, although wind turbines are two to three times higher than hydro towers. ...Ray Duhamel, of Jones Consulting Group of Oakville, said the draft planning policies in the county for wind energy provide a one-kilometre buffer between existing "settlement areas" and wind turbines. Klundert wondered if one kilometre would be enough to accommodate future growth and still have a reasonable buffer for homeowners worried about property values.

THERE'S TROUBLE brewing in Nova Scotia's quest for wind energy. We all know the importance of developing our valuable abundance of clean, green renewable energy in order to offset the greenhouse gases produced by Nova Scotia Power's coal-fired generation plants. Our government has legislated aggressive renewable energy targets for the near future. So wind energy is good, right? Well not always, according to many of the folks from Pugwash.

PUGWASH - A proposed wind farm near here would hurt the area's well-established cottage industry, a real estate agent said Thursday. "This is cottage country and on its own it is a major industry that has resulted in property values doubling several times over in recent years, but we will see property values drop 30 to 50 per cent as soon as this project is approved," said Peter Finley. "I've already seen buyers back away from deals and I know of people who have property in the area of the wind farm who have put their (development) plans on hold. They are scared that they will not be able to enjoy their property with a wind farm in their backyard."

Some local realtors are expecting significant decreases in land values to homes in the area surrounding local wind turbine projects, but the proponents have said they have no indication that will be the case. Across the Municipality of Kincardine, the 120-turbine Enbridge Wind Power Project has been a highly-debated topic, while Suncor Energy’s 38-turbine project has been widely supported in the Ripley area of Huron-Kinloss. Mitch Twolan, Mayor of Huron-Kinloss and broker of Lake Range Realty, said he’s already experienced the pros and cons to real estate which have come along with the turbine proposals. But Twolan believes it will take the completion of the projects to properly determine what widespread impact it will have after that time. “It’s going to be two to five years before we see the real impact,” Twolan said. “At this point, it’s almost too early to know. A lot of people are afraid of the unknown.”

Chris Luxemburger is a real estate broker, director of the Brampton Real Estate Board and the Chairperson of the Real Estate By-Laws Committee in Ontario, Canada. In his survey of the three-year sales records for the Melancthon Wind Plant and surrounding area, Luxemburger found significant differences among 600 properties within and beyond three nautical miles of the plant. Those in proximity to wind turbines had either a higher rate of non-sale (11% vs. 3%) or took twice as long to sell. He summarizes his findings in this presentation.

Mr. Keller writes about surprise in "extent of the decline" in the production of the province's four wind farms. There is no surprise among those who have studying the bigger industry picture and are not seduced by the exaggerated claims made by the industry and its supporters. Perhaps that surprise comes from the dawning realization that these turbines are not all that they have made out to be....... Wind generation is not even a partial solution to our energy needs, and climate concerns.

There seems to be a misunderstanding about what is meant by property value. There is the absolute dollars value of a property. There is irrefutable proof that one property sale worth $230,00 has fallen through directly because of the proposed wind energy project. This matter is now in the hands of the lawyers. The only MLS listed property sale on the Gulf Shore since this project became known about sold at 30% less than the assessed value. Sales have been made elsewhere in the County, but not on the Shore. There are at least seven property owners who have canceled or indefinitely postponed plans to build because of the project.