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Not a game show title, but the riddle is one that sounds like it belongs on one.
Can someone lay claim to an electron?
If an electron moves from a device owned by someone else, to one that you own, is it now your own legally-owned electron?
Let's say this electron started life on a solar panel. One day, it got very excited by the sun (don't we all) and it made it's merry way down into an inverter, where it underwent a conversion from DC to AC. Both the solar panels and the inverter are owned by a freeholder. The lease reserves ownership rights over the equipment and the right to any income from the generated electricity to the freeholder, but said freeholder does not ever exercise (and does not appear to be ABLE to exercise) this right. But they grant you permission to consume as much of the generated electricity during the day, to power your home appliances as you wish. They also, upon your request, grant permission for you to install a home solar battery system.
So. You install this battery system, and it fills itself up with juicy, wholesome electrons during the day ... by drawing power down from the AC supply. The battery's demand for power is like the demand from turning on your kettle or TV. It's just another appliance that needs power. But it's a clever appliance. It's one which demands whatever 'surplus power' is left over once everything in your house has got what it needs, and then it stores it away. The battery keeps the accumulated electrons, for a period of time. Resting, relaxing electrons. Occasionally, a few of them excitedly rush out to support your TV and the evening kettle when they're turned on. And then ... let's say at 6pm, on a dark winter's night ... you decide you'd like to release any remaining electrons, let them go wild, set them free, so they can help support the national grid at peak time. My question is: whose electron is it at this point? When it's generated, it apparently belongs to the freeholder. Whatever flows directly from the solar inverter to the grid are apparently "freeholder electrons." Whatever's consumed by your household appliances, I guess, are "leaseholder electrons," and you use as many of them as you like, including to power your hungry battery. So what about when it leaves the battery again, several hours later? When it leaves your house? When it joins it's fellow electrons at the national grid?
I ask because, let's say your can't get paid for the energy generated by the solar panels/inverter directly (they're not yours) - anything flowing from the inverter out to the grid you can' claim dims on. But you CAN claim dibs on those electrons to power your battery. Then you can get paid to export/output the power from this battery. This battery you own. It's yours. It was charged up by electricity flowing freely and legitimately from the solar inverter, with the blessings of your landlord.
Could you then legally enter a private contract to sell this battery-exported energy to an energy company? Where does the landlord's claim to an electron end? When it leaves the inverter? When it enters the battery? When it hits the smart meter on your property's boundary? When it makes it's way to the local DNO?
This whole situation is sadly as ridiculous as it sounds. I have a feeling it is because the solar panels were funded by a government grant and this made the landlord ineligible for the feed-in tariff. The lease terminology was drafted by a solicitor to make it clear to the leaseholder that they wouldn't be able to claim any FIT income on the generated energy (without such language there might have been a messy legal dispute over who has that right later on). But I am not seeking to claim the FIT - or any other 'grant' or 'state aid' subsidy scheme. I am looking into a scheme modelled on the upcoming Smart Export Guarantee, so no conflict between the FIT-grant and the 'whatever' grant that funded the panels would seem to apply. I did ask the landlord (an organisation) if they would permit me to claim SEG payments on the directly-exported power, and they said no (probably more out of confusion and uncertainty as to the reason behind the original lease wording), but it seems to me that a lease term which would restrict any or all potential earnings from power exported from my home would be overly broad. What if I got an EV car and wanted to use Vehicle2Grid technology? Would the presence of a few solar electrons disqualify me? Would the lease disqualify me even if I switched the darned solar panel system offline?
It'd be grateful for any thoughts from clever legal minds on ownership rights over electrons! Thank you.
Can someone lay claim to an electron?
If an electron moves from a device owned by someone else, to one that you own, is it now your own legally-owned electron?
Let's say this electron started life on a solar panel. One day, it got very excited by the sun (don't we all) and it made it's merry way down into an inverter, where it underwent a conversion from DC to AC. Both the solar panels and the inverter are owned by a freeholder. The lease reserves ownership rights over the equipment and the right to any income from the generated electricity to the freeholder, but said freeholder does not ever exercise (and does not appear to be ABLE to exercise) this right. But they grant you permission to consume as much of the generated electricity during the day, to power your home appliances as you wish. They also, upon your request, grant permission for you to install a home solar battery system.
So. You install this battery system, and it fills itself up with juicy, wholesome electrons during the day ... by drawing power down from the AC supply. The battery's demand for power is like the demand from turning on your kettle or TV. It's just another appliance that needs power. But it's a clever appliance. It's one which demands whatever 'surplus power' is left over once everything in your house has got what it needs, and then it stores it away. The battery keeps the accumulated electrons, for a period of time. Resting, relaxing electrons. Occasionally, a few of them excitedly rush out to support your TV and the evening kettle when they're turned on. And then ... let's say at 6pm, on a dark winter's night ... you decide you'd like to release any remaining electrons, let them go wild, set them free, so they can help support the national grid at peak time. My question is: whose electron is it at this point? When it's generated, it apparently belongs to the freeholder. Whatever flows directly from the solar inverter to the grid are apparently "freeholder electrons." Whatever's consumed by your household appliances, I guess, are "leaseholder electrons," and you use as many of them as you like, including to power your hungry battery. So what about when it leaves the battery again, several hours later? When it leaves your house? When it joins it's fellow electrons at the national grid?
I ask because, let's say your can't get paid for the energy generated by the solar panels/inverter directly (they're not yours) - anything flowing from the inverter out to the grid you can' claim dims on. But you CAN claim dibs on those electrons to power your battery. Then you can get paid to export/output the power from this battery. This battery you own. It's yours. It was charged up by electricity flowing freely and legitimately from the solar inverter, with the blessings of your landlord.
Could you then legally enter a private contract to sell this battery-exported energy to an energy company? Where does the landlord's claim to an electron end? When it leaves the inverter? When it enters the battery? When it hits the smart meter on your property's boundary? When it makes it's way to the local DNO?
This whole situation is sadly as ridiculous as it sounds. I have a feeling it is because the solar panels were funded by a government grant and this made the landlord ineligible for the feed-in tariff. The lease terminology was drafted by a solicitor to make it clear to the leaseholder that they wouldn't be able to claim any FIT income on the generated energy (without such language there might have been a messy legal dispute over who has that right later on). But I am not seeking to claim the FIT - or any other 'grant' or 'state aid' subsidy scheme. I am looking into a scheme modelled on the upcoming Smart Export Guarantee, so no conflict between the FIT-grant and the 'whatever' grant that funded the panels would seem to apply. I did ask the landlord (an organisation) if they would permit me to claim SEG payments on the directly-exported power, and they said no (probably more out of confusion and uncertainty as to the reason behind the original lease wording), but it seems to me that a lease term which would restrict any or all potential earnings from power exported from my home would be overly broad. What if I got an EV car and wanted to use Vehicle2Grid technology? Would the presence of a few solar electrons disqualify me? Would the lease disqualify me even if I switched the darned solar panel system offline?
It'd be grateful for any thoughts from clever legal minds on ownership rights over electrons! Thank you.
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