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NIMBYs Shoot Down Green Projects Next Door While Planet Burns

Neighbors worry about protecting pristine vistas and property values when solar and wind projects come to town.

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Tourists look out from a beach at the GE-Alstom Block Island Wind Farm, three miles off the coast of Block Island in Rhode Island.

Tourists look out from a beach at the GE-Alstom Block Island Wind Farm, three miles off the coast of Block Island in Rhode Island.

Photographer: Scott Eisen/Getty Images

People love renewable power projects. Just not the one next door.

While states from New York to Nevada want to get most of their power from solar plants and wind farms, residents are balking at living near green projects. And unlike opposition to fossil fuels due to concerns over pollution and contamination, the hostility toward clean power is largely driven by aesthetics and property values.