UC Merced

The.tort.system.is.commonly.used.in.environmental. policy. to. drive. costs. to. the. point. where. a. party. is. forced. to. forego—or. adopt—practices. desired. by. the.opposing.party . This.Article.demonstrates.that.it.is.possible.for.lawsuits. to.ignite.a.market.for.an.innovative.energy.technology.that. otherwise.would.be.too.costly.to.implement ..For.example,. early.adopters.of.a.technology.might.be.able.to.create.con- ditions. that. make. that. technology. feasible. because. they. are.motivated.to.settle.a.nuisance.lawsuit ..Lessons.learned. from. the. implementation. of. such. technology. can. yield. engineering.improvements.that.would.decrease.the.capital. or.operating.costs.of.the.technology ..In.other.words,.a.nui- sance.lawsuit.can.serve.as.the.mechanism.to.make.a.tech- nology.economically.feasible.and.commercially.available . This. Article. focuses. on. anaerobic. digestion. (AD):. a. technology.that.converts.biomass.into.methane.that.can.be. captured.and.used.as.biogas,.or.that.can.be.converted.into. electricity. through. a. generator .. The. biogas. and. electricity. can.be.used.at.the.facility.where.the.biomass.is.collected,. or. the. electricity. could. be. sold. to. the. grid. if. net. meter- ing.policies.are.available .1.In.addition.to.energy.generation. and. greenhouse. gas. reduction,. AD. also. reduces. odor— an. important. consideration. for. agricultural. operations,. including. swine. and. dairy. facilities .. This. Article. presents. the. author’s. original. research. illustrating. that. mitigating. imminent. nuisance. lawsuits. potentially. can. make. AD. technology.economically.feasible.in.the.western.part.of.the. United.States .Implementation.of.AD.technology.for.pur- poses.of.lawsuit.mitigation.has.already.led.to.improvements. in. engineering. innovation. that. might. make. the. technol- ogy.more.widely.available.in.the.western.United.States