Does the construction of biogas plants affect local property values?

Although biogas is considered a renewable source of energy, the social acceptability of biogas plants is controversial due to resistance from local communities who are afraid of potential local negative externalities. This paper aims to investigate this claim, by means of a diff-in-diff model, using evidence from the housing market of Piedmont, where 167 biogas plants were opened between 2006 and 2015. The results show no significant impact of the opening of a biogas plant on housing values in neighboring areas. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.