Economic and legal principles in renewable energy development policy - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 11

who worry about how a particular proposed project might disturb their
ancestral lands. Conflicts involving these sorts of stakeholder parties, listed
in the right column of Table 1.1 , are the primary focus of this topic.
Land and airspace as renewable energy property
In addition to comprehending the complex trade-offs inherent in renewable
energy siting decisions, effective policymakers must also have a clear under-
standing of the specific types of resources that are at issue in these contexts.
One additional background principle that recurs multiple times in this topic
is that wind currents and sunlight themselves are not private property. At
times, policymakers worldwide have overlooked this fact in their zealous
effort to promote wind and solar energy development throughout the globe.
Recognizing the distinction between airspace and the wind and sunlight
that flow through it is thus critical to effectively governing property conflicts
in the context of wind and solar power.
It is difficult to accurately analyze many land use conflicts over
renewable energy development without a clear understanding of the
property interests at stake in these disputes. Over the past quarter
century, the growing importance of wind and solar energy has led some
to advocate the legal recognition of new types of property interests such as
“wind estates” 8 or “solar rights.” 9 In reality, these supposedly newfound
property types are often just re-characterizations of existing property
rights that laws have clearly defined for centuries. Hoping to counter
this trend, this topic advocates a more consistent approach to analyzing
clashes over wind and solar energy development, framing the property
rights involved solely as interests in land and in the airspace immediately
above it.
Property in sunlight and wind?
The renewable energy movement has significantly altered the way that
humans view wind and sunlight. Although humans throughout history have
appreciated sunny days and cool summer breezes, sunlight and wind have
not historically been viewed as legally protected commodities capable of
being bought or sold. However, due to a variety of factors, global attitudes
about the marketability of wind and sunlight are gradually changing.
As modern technologies make it ever easier to convert wind and solar
radiation into electricity, these unique natural energy sources are increas-
ingly seen as having substantial economic value and therefore being worthy
of commodification.
Viewed outside of the renewable energy context, the notion that wind
and sunlight might be marketable property assets seems absurd. After all,
neither wind nor sunlight is particularly scarce. Both are present throughout
much of the day almost everywhere on earth. Basic economics teaches that