ENVIRONMENTAL-LEGAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE ASPECTS OF THE INTERACTION OF SOLAR ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Despite fast development of social relations in the field of solar energy and the active period of reforming of energy legislation in this field in recent years, national legal doctrine doesn`t contain the necessary comprehensive scientific studies on the environmental, legal and natural resource aspects of the interaction of solar energy and the environment, which determines the importance of considering this topic. The purpose of this article is to find the optimal ecological and legal interaction of solar energy and the environment and consider it as one of the types of natural resources. Within the framework of the article, the existing ecological and legal aspects of the interaction of solar energy and the environment were highlighted. These include, in particular: environmental impact assessment of existing and future solar energy facilities; taking into account the results of the strategic environmental assessment; observance of "ecological" obligations by special nature users of solar energy; cooperation with nature protection organizations; involving the public in making a decision on the construction of new solar generation facilities to ensure the production of electricity, as well as other decisions that may affect people's health and the state of the environment; increasing environmental culture and the level of responsibility in the field of environmental protection; application of world experience in using solar energy; taking into account the Ukrainian traditions of using solar energy. It was concluded that energy legal relations, including relations regarding the use of solar energy, should be considered as a complex institution of natural resource law. In the conditions of martial law, it should be noted the important geostrategic importance of solar energy for our country with the goal of energy independence. It has been established that the use of solar energy represents a rather specific type of nature use, which does not easily fit into the existing division into general and special nature use and, in general, into the universal canons of natural resource law. It was determined that the legal regime for the use of natural resources nowadays is undergoing changes and needs updating, taking into account the increase in the value and volume of use of alternative natural resources and the need for detailed legal regulation of their use.