Law Commons^™

Why Pushback To California’S Advanced Clean Cars Ii Policy Won’T Stop The Electric Car Revolution, Lily M. Pickett

Connecticut Law Review

In a move some have called the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine, the California Air Resources Board has created regulations, Advanced Clean Cars II, to target California’s carbon pollution, banning the sale of new gas-powered cars and light trucks in the state by 2035. These regulations come from a special privilege held only by the state of California through a preemption waiver from the emissions regulations set by the Clean Air Act. Other states can sign on to California’s waiver, taking it from a special privilege to a second set of emissions regulations, almost equal in …

The Promise And Perils Of Renewable Energy On Tribal Lands, Sara Bronin

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Community-Scale Renewable Energy, Sara Bronin, Hannah Wiseman

Faculty Articles and Papers

As the movement toward cleaner energy has gained momentum within the United States, a growing number of scholars and policymakers have made the case for community-scale renewable energy: mid-sized energy sources supported by resources pooled from several private par-ties in close geographic proximity. When built and utilized at the community level, these energy facilities may allow for economies of scale that their owners could not achieve working individually.' Individual distributed generation, such as solar infrastructure on the roofs of homes, involves high transaction costs and creates relatively small impacts. At the same time, community-scale renewable energy has advantages over largescale …

Building- Related Renewable Energy And The Case Of 360 State Street, Sara Bronin

Faculty Articles and Papers

This Article argues that a well-conceived policy approach to building-related renewable energy (“BRRE”) — that is, renewable energy incorporated into inhabited structures and used by those structures’ occupants — could transform the way we produce and consume energy by maximizing efficiency while simultaneously minimizing energy sprawl. The vast majority of Americans favor renewable energy, at least in concept. Yet private property owners still face significant obstacles in trying to incorporate renewable energy into their projects. This Article analyzes barriers faced by the project team for 360 State Street, an award-winning, mixed-use LEED® Platinum building in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Among …

Solar Rights For Texas Property Owners, Sara Bronin

Faculty Articles and Papers

In response to Jamie France's note, "A Proposed Solar Access Law for the State of Texas," Professor Bronin urges future commentators to focus on three additional areas of inquiry related to proposed solar rights regimes. Bronin argues that such proposals would be strengthened by discussion of potential legal challenges to the proposals, related political issues, and renewable energy microgrids.Ms. France’s proposal for the State of Texas includes the elimination of preexisting private property restrictions that negatively affect solar access. Bronin argues that this proposal would be strengthened by a discussion of potential challenges under federal and state takings clauses. Additionally, …

Curbing Energy Sprawl With Microgrids, Sara Bronin

Faculty Articles and Papers

Energy sprawl - the phenomenon of ever-increasing consumption of land, particularly in rural areas, required to site energy generation facilities - is a real and growing problem. Over the next twenty years, at least sixty-seven million acres of land will have been developed for energy projects, destroying wildlife habitats and fragmenting landscapes. According to one influential report, even renewable energy projects - especially large-scale projects that require large-scale transmission and distribution infrastructure - contribute to energy sprawl. This Article does not aim to stop large-scale renewable energy projects or even argue that policymakers focus solely on land use in determining …

Modern Lights, Sara Bronin

Faculty Articles and Papers

This Article functions as a companion to a piece, Solar Rights, recently published in the Boston University Law Review. In that piece, the author analyzed the absence of a coherent legal framework for the treatment of solar rights - the rights to access and harness the rays of the sun. The growing popularity of, and need for, solar collector technology and other solar uses calls for reform. Answering the call for reform in Solar Rights, this Article proposes a framework within which a solar rights regime might be developed. First, as a baseline, any regime must recognize the natural characteristics …

Solar Rights, Sara Bronin

Faculty Articles and Papers

The rights to access and to harness the rays of the sun - solar rights - are extremely valuable. These rights can determine whether and how an individual can take advantage of the sun’s light, warmth, or energy, and they can have significant economic consequences. Accordingly, for at least two thousand years, people have attempted to assign solar rights in a fair and efficient manner. In the United States, attempts to assign solar rights have fallen short. A quarter century ago, numerous American legal scholars debated this deficiency. They agreed that this country lacked a coherent legal framework for the …

Why Climate Law Must Be Federal: The Clash Between Commerce Clause Jurisprudence And State Greenhouse Gas Trading Systems, Joseph Macdougald

Faculty Articles and Papers

Absent Federal legislation or leadership on regulatory responses to greenhouse gas (“GHG”)-based climate problems, the states have sought, either on their own or through regional agreements, to restrict the amount of GHG released by the electric power plants within their states. These systems are subject to “leakage,” the ability of power providers to receive electricity from an “extra-regional” and hence unregulated source. While practical considerations may limit the immediate impact of leakage, in the long term, state-based systems perversely provide competitive advantages to unrestricted GHG-emitting power sources that do not have the burden of compliance. One logical avenue to address …

The Evolution Of The Electric Utility Industry, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

This article examines the evolution of the electric utility industry in three parts: I. Discovery, Innovation, and Expansion; II. Increased Demand, Improved Technology, and Increased Regulation; and III. Diversification, Regionalism, and Deregulation.

Part I begins with an examination of how the electric industry came to be, starting with incandescent light. The power industry at this time consisted of three segments that still exist today; generation, transmission, and distribution. Municipalities initially issued franchises and charters to power cities, which resulted in fierce competition to provide power at the lowest rates. Through 1880 to 1900, electricity-use increased rapidly, attracting private companies to …