Impact of biogas plants on rural residential property values and implications for local acceptance

In this paper, we investigate the impact of large- and farm-scale biogas plants on the rural residential property values. We use data from 11,279 rural housing transactions in the period 2007-2015 and trace spatial effects of biogas plants on the local property market. Our results show that large biogas plants have a significant negative impact on rural residential property values while farm-scale biogas plants have a significant positive impact. The findings suggest that preferences for or against biogas plants cannot be explained by either a NIMBY or a PIMBY phenomenon and the paper explores potential reasons for the observed disparity in valuation of farm- and large-scale biogas plants. An economic impact assessment of the choice of facility type, based on a concrete case study, indicates that the impact on residential property values may tip the scale in favor of farm-scale biogas plants. Based on these results, policy implications for planning and expansion of biogas production are discussed.