An internal Government review into the impact of renewable energy generation is examining whether wind farms hit rural house prices.
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has brought in consultants Frontier Economics to establish the loss to house prices caused by onshore wind, according to reports today.
The work is part of a wider study into how renewables impact on the countryside and the rural economy.
The report is a joint project between Mr Paterson’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
A DEFRA spokesman said: “It is our role to rural-proof policy. We need to ensure that energy is generated in a way that is sustainable. Sustainability includes the economic as well as social and environmental impacts.”
Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary Ed Davey has played down reports of a row with his Conservative Cabinet colleague in a letter to the Daily Telegraph.
He said: “My department is not blocking a DEFRA report on the impact of wind farms.
“The Government is committed to moving to a secure, affordable, low carbon energy system, without excessively relying on any single technology.
“So, this cross-government study will look at maximising the benefits and minimising the negative impacts of all technologies, including shale gas and nuclear.”
A Government spokeswoman said: “We need to ensure that energy is generated in a way that is sustainable and understand the effects that different technologies have on the environment and on communities across the country.
“DECC and DEFRA are working together on this report, which is not yet complete, to ensure that it meets the usual standards and quality assurances that you would expect from any Government publication.
“A diverse energy mix is the best way to meet our energy security requirements, our climate change commitments and keep energy bills affordable.”
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