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Contribution to Book
Solar Rights in the United States
Delivering Energy Policy in the EU and US: A Multi-Disciplinary Reader (2015)
  • Sara C Bronin, University of Connecticut
Abstract
Solar rights are legal rights needed to ensure that a piece of land has access to sunlight. These rights may be of interest to property owners seeking to undertake a variety of activities: farming, lighting, and clothes drying, to name a few. But perhaps the most economically significant purpose for which solar rights may be utilized is for the purpose of solar collectors. Such devices are used to harness the rays of the sun and transform them into thermal, chemical, or electrical energy. In an era of increasing deployment of solar collectors across the globe, the fair and efficient allocation of solar rights is of increasing importance. This chapter will focus on solar rights in the United States. It will address how solar rights are currently allocated and will suggest the need to formulate solar rights that will deliver more optimal policy results in the future.
Keywords
  • Solar,
  • property,
  • solar rights,
  • sunlight,
  • renewable energy,
  • land use,
  • zoning,
  • nuisance
Publication Date
December, 2015
Editor
Raphael Heffron & Gavin Little
Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Citation Information
Sara C Bronin. "Solar Rights in the United States" Delivering Energy Policy in the EU and US: A Multi-Disciplinary Reader (2015)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/bronin/17/