Solar Easement Legislation

So, as a follow-up to a subject I spoke about in February - “A True Solar Dilemma” - another case has come up in Canada that touches upon most of the same issues. A family installed solar for their roof, and then new construction on an adjacent lot interfered with the available sunlight, rendering their new investment essentially useless.

30+ states in the U.S.A. have some kind of solar easement legislation that seeks to protect solar homeowners from a situation like this, but this case is a great reminder of the fact that there are still vast portions of this country and entire other countries where legislation isn’t regulating what could become an increasingly prevalent problem.

Moreover, there are disputes that arise even in states that have legislation about its proper interpretation. And as solar starts to take off in America, cities and states are going to start having to make some tough choices about how many restrictions they are willing to put in place.

Moving forward, it’s clear that there are going to have to be some discussions among the ranks of city planners to make sure that this doesn’t create a high-profile, wholly unnecessary stumbling block along the path to solar’s public acceptance and proliferation. Let’s iron out the kinks now, before too many more homeowners have to face this problem.