The rising economic value of wind resources in recent years has introduced some perplexing new property law questions. For example, what exactly are “wind rights”, and are they legally cognizable real property interests? Should landowners be liable if wind turbines on their parcels disrupt...

This Article argues that the U.S. Supreme Court's takings jurisprudence fails to account for instances when public entities restrict private airspace solely to keep it open for their own use. Many landowners rely on open space above adjacent land to preserve scenic views for their properties, to...

The recent surge of interest in renewable energy and sustainable land use has made the airspace above land more valuable than ever before.However, a growing number of policies aimed at promoting sustainability disregard landowners' airspace rights in ways that can cause airspace to be...

Unprecedented growth in rooftop solar energy development is drawing increased attention to the issue of solar access. To operate effectively, solar panels require un-shaded access to the sun's rays during peak sunlight hours. Some landowners are reluctant to invest in rooftop solar panels...

The rapid pace of U.S. wind energy development is generating a growing number of conflicts over competing wind rights. The “wake” of a commercial wind turbine creates turbulence and unsteady wind flow that can reduce the productivity of other wind turbines situated downwind. Existing law is...

The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered major deficiencies in the United States' approach to stockpiling for emergencies. States, cities and hospitals across the country had inadequate stores of critical medical items on hand when the pandemic reached US soil, and the federal government's Strategic...

As rooftop solar energy systems become an ever more attractive alternative to grid-supplied electricity, electric utilities are actively seeking for ways to protect themselves against this new form of disruptive innovation in their markets. One strategy that some utilities appear to be employing...

The growing popularity of small civilian drones has generated a wide array of complex and unprecedented regulatory challenges. Many of these challenges, such as that of keeping drones away from manned aircraft, are matters that the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) is clearly...

Property law has evolved and adapted throughout its existence in response to social and technological change. In this era of increasing focus on sustainable energy, new property rights disputes arising from innovations in the energy industry are once again stretching the bounds of property law....

Landowners today are increasingly selling or leasing to others the right to use the wind flowing across their land to generate electric power. For the first time in history, the right to capture wind in some areas of the country has become marketable and highly lucrative. This article describes...