Property and the energy transition

The climate emergency forces us to substitute sources of renewable energy for fossil fuels and to reduce our energy consumption. The sheer urgency of this transition towards renewable energy and energy efficiency renders imperative the state’s power to compel owners to retrofit buildings, questioning the extent of constitutional and international property protection. The energy transition with its small-scale projects leads to a fragmentation of interests in buildings and energy installations and a greater dependency on the operators of each single project. This leads to an urgent need for lower transaction costs, an accessible property-law system, and bankruptcy law that prevents the consequences of such dependency. A decentralised energy transition offers opportunities for citizens to produce renewable energy together in an energy community, raising the question whether property law sufficiently accommodates these energy commons. Off-shore wind poses particular issues as it challenges property law to develop solutions beyond national borders.