One of the main limitations to deploying solar energy is just the simple ability to make use of the Sun's energy. Here, we focus on the right to access and use the Sun's energy, and the functional ability to access unobstructed solar energy within the solar envelope. Try to remember that many technologies and objects that are outside serve as SECSs: homes and solar panels, yes, but also clothes lines, patios, and trees.
The DSIRE solar portal describes both solar rights and solar access (easements), along with a map of US states having each or both. Note that PA still has neither solar access laws, nor solar rights laws. The Wikipedia description is also a general framework to think about access to solar energy in society.
Just think, in Germany, you have the right to be exposed to sunlight directly in any office scenario (no windowless cubicles permitted). In many states, you have the right to hang dry your clothes on a line outside. In ancient Rome, an individual had the right to access solar gains or be compensated for an obstruction of that resource. When we talk about policies for solar energy, one of the first is the basic ability to access that sunlight and then make use of it to do work!
The concept of solar rights is still emerging in the USA. I am going to recommend that you take about 10 minutes to review the current state of solar rights from the Solar America Board for Codes and Standards (the Solar ABCs [5]; choose 1 page summary). The coverage is brief but useful when considering the scope of solar legal status in the USA.
The phrase "solar rights" is often used in a general sense and a specific sense. In general, solar rights are the broad class of legal rights to access and make use of the light from the Sun. In the specific sense, solar rights are distinguished from "solar access" by the following description:
Here, solar rights describe the ability to make use of solar energy in your locale.
Solar access is the functional ability of a SECS within a locale to receive or "access" solar gains across property lines without shadowing or other obstruction occurring from buildings/trees/landmarks set in a nearby property. It also has to do with the enacted local policies to manage the commons of the solar resource system, and an individual's ability to be granted compensation if access is blocked in some way. Bronin has described solar access as being managed in three manners: as a solar easement, through covenants, and through lease agreements.
We have already discussed the role of minimizing shading in SECSs that intentionally collect and convert solar gains (rather than shading devices that attempt to control solar gains). Solar access has to do with access to the solar resource within the locale over many hours of the day, and across the months of the year. Recall that we already developed some skill to assess the solar access at a site through the sun path diagrams in Lesson 2. Hey, we just tied together something that was a lot of work earlier with an advanced topic in Lesson 8! Great!
The solar envelope is an extension of solar access, conceived for urban scenarios with a cluster of buildings and obstructions. Professor Emeritus Ralph Knowles of the Dept. of Architecture, the University of Southern California, conceived and developed an extensive exploration of the solar envelope as a concept for policy development and planning. You are welcome to read about Dr. Knowles' solar envelope concept in complement to our assigned reading.
R. Knowles, "The Solar Envelope: Its Meaning for Energy and Buildings" [6], Energy and Buildings, 35, 15-25 (2003).
Links
[1] http://www.bu.edu/law/journals-archive/bulr/documents/bronin.pdf
[2] http://www.dsireusa.org/
[3] http://programs.dsireusa.org/system/program/detail/3
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_access
[5] http://solarabcs.org/about/publications/reports/solar-access/
[6] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378778802000762?via%3Dihub