Securing Solar Access in Maine

This Comment explores the common law property concepts of nuisance, water law, and easements which arise by operation of law in order to determine the kind and degree of solar access protection they can provide Maine residential users of solar energy. The final section of this Comment proposes an express solar easement by which Maine citizens can create their own enforceable interests in unobstructed sunlight for solar energy use. In highly urbanized areas where space is scarce and already developed, the conflicts between solar energy users and other land and airspace users may be too difficult to resolve. In Maine, however, with its generally suburban and rural character, its critical need for reducing dependence on imported home heating oil, its concern for the preservation of a healthful environment, and its supply of wood to serve as a back-up heating source for solar energy systems, the opportunity to encourage solar energy use by providing the means for individuals to guarantee necessary access to sunlight should not be missed.