Managing the Dark Side of Trees

Investment in distributed solar photovoltaics (PV) continues to grow exponentially. While these public-private investments in distributed PV are impressive, they will not pay off without access to the fuel that powers the panels — the sun. Sadly, the property law regimes in almost every U.S. jurisdiction do not protect solar access. This article defines the problem and lays out a solution to one aspect of the problem — management of shade pollution from trees through the creation of Solar Access Zones or SAZs that identify and restrict the planting of tree species to heights that will not interfere with the production of energy from the sun.