Solar Panels vs. Trees
Solar Panels Vs. Trees Many consumers have several questions if whether or not if their neighbors can block access to their solar panels with shading. In the case of Solar vs. Trees, the trees are the ones that block the solar panels from direct sunlight. Both these men are environmentally friendly. “In terms of loving the environment it seems that neither one can top the other. ” (NPR 62) When it comes to the decision of cutting down trees to get sunlight for solar panels, which one seems to have the upper hand in this situation? I believe Mr. Treanor should have the upper hand in this situation involving his trees and Mr.
Vargus’s solar panel installation. Mr. Treanor trees had been planted first and Mr. Vargus did not seem to mention the fact that the trees were interrupting the growth of the corn he had planted. There are several reason as to why Mr. Vargus is wrong in filing the lawsuit against Mr. Treanor. Mr. Vargus used his knowledge of the Solar Shade Act after the matter of knowing his neighbor’s trees were casting a long shadow over his property. Mr. Vargus never informed Mr. Treanor of his findings. It was only after the tree had grown to its full height that Mr.
Vargus installed the solar panels that he offered Mr. Treanor that he would pay for the tree to be cut down himself. Since Mr. Treanor planted the redwood trees first. The one immense mistake he made was the fact that he did not do his research so that he could be well acquainted with the redwood trees and to see precisely how tall the redwood trees grow and the environment that they need to be grown in. He also did not consider any of the risk factors that could possibly occur when planting a redwood and living in one of the areas that has a high risk of earthquake.
For someone that has never seen a redwood tree, it can be larger than life. The average redwood tree can amount up to three hundred and seventy five feet tall. These trees have been present before man himself came on earth. If a live redwood were to fall over it will continue to grow. At that point if the tree that has fallen over has not been disturbed will continue to grow and produce even more redwoods trees. First of all, redwoods depend on 30 percent of fog to water their every need. The fog is absorbed directly into leaves and all the way down to their roots.
Living in certain parts of California especially one of them being Santa Clara means we hardly receive any of this fog except our large amounts of sunshine. Living in Santa Clara also means you live close to the San Andres fault line. If an earthquake were to occur the redwood tree that Mr. Treanor planted could easily break from the ground and fall onto one of his neighbors houses. Therefore producing a larger amount of redwoods. Although there is cause for several complications, redwoods are of necessity in our environment. Originally Redwoods covered 2 million acres in the forest.
Today there is about 117,000 acres left. “There is an urgent need to restore these damaged lands so they will once again resemble majestic ancient forests and provide homes for animals that rely on them. (All About Redwoods)” Even though Mr. Treanor did not take the necessary precautions he should have, Mr. Vargus should have brought his discovery to Mr. Treanor and proceed to develop a plan in which they both would have come to a compromise. When Mr. Vargus first attempted to plant his corn he knew he needed sunlight to ensure its growth. Mr.
Vargus planted his corn closet to the fence line where the shade was more evident. Mr. Vargus knew at that moment that the corn that he planted would not grow due to the amount of shade that was covering the side of his house. At that precise moment he was indifferent of the situation with the growth of Mr. Treanors trees. It was later that Mr. Vargus spent thousands of dollars to install the solar panels after the fact of the matter that he was well informed of the Solar Shade/Rights Act. This act was created to perform a solar access structure.
This law that included security was “to allow sunlight and prevent shading of systems and to limit the ability homeowner associations and governments” from solar energy resources. Mr. Vargus did offer to pay $10,000 to have the trees cut down. He was also well informed of the Solar Shade Act law and took advantage of the situation. What he did not take into consideration was the fact that trees one; two and three had been planted before the installment of his solar energy system. They had been there before he made his attempt to plant his corn plant.
The Solar Shade Act was to provide limited protection to solar energy owners from shading that has been caused by any other resources. This law was to prevent property owners from allowing a blocking to their solar energy system prior installment. Resources planted after prior installment was and should to be removed. Shading is only allowed to block 10 percent of the solar energy systems on a neighboring property during certain hours. This applies to existing or newly planted trees that do not cast an overlooking shadow within the first year f installation. The Solar Rights Act allows us to balance the essential needs of each individual solar system owner along with other property owners by allowing the development of solar access rights. The SRA limits its conditions and restrictions that are enforced by homeowners and local government agencies on solar installations. The also creates legal rights to solar interest and requires local agencies to help preserve the cooling and heating opportunities in developing new projects.
The California Solar Rights Act of 1978 does not necessarily bar reasonable restrictions on solar installations, but it does establish its legal right to exercise a solar convenience. Which defines that energy systems are met with its requirements. It is to also control the government ordinances that would confine solar energy systems. The California Solar Shade Control Act was passed in the late 1970’s after “the oil crisis and lines at the gas stations” (NBR 62) made an impact on lawmakers and made them aware of the importance of alternative energy use.
In the result of the oil crisis there were many states that adopted laws to encourage and promote renewable energy resources, which incorporated solar energy. In the recent years there has been a large amount of renewed energy. Many homes today have solar panels installed. There are more than 60 million Americans that are limited to the growth of solar energy use which bring about the Solar Shade Act and making it the most popular in homeownership. These laws have been in place for more than 30 years.
The Solar Rights Act fought to promote and support the wide-ranging use of solar energy systems and to defend and help aid the right to use to the sunlight, which is an essential component to operate our solar energy systems. Even though the law is more than 30 years old, the Solar Rights Act is a large contributory factor that plays a significant role to California’s strong policy commitment to solar energy, and it is also the foundation for the act that is of relevance to all of us today and helps to continue its support for California’s solar energy programs.
