Court Slaps Down Right Wing Attack on Colorado Clean Energy Standard

Colorado’s renewable energy standard, one of the most ambitious in the U.S., has the distinction of being approved not just by the state legislature but also by voters in a statewide referendum.

Now it’s been approved in the courts.

In a decision that could have implications for other renewable energy requirements under attack by the fossil fueled right wing, a U.S. District Court judge has upheld Colorado’s RES.  Judge William J. Martinez flatly rejected arguments by the Energy and Environment Legal Institute that Colorado’s RES violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Martinez granted summary judgment to the three defendants in the case, all commissioners of the state’s Public Utilities Commission.

In a news release responding to the decision, EarthJustice — which represented environmental groups which intervened in the case — said the decision will have implications beyond Colorado because renewable standards in some of the 30 other states that have them are “under legal attack by the fossil fuel industry and its supporters.”

Michael Hiatt, an EarthJustice attorney, said in an interview there have been a number of cases attacking clean energy and climate change efforts that have been rooted in Commerce Clause arguments and that the Colorado decision is important in beating back that line of legal attack.  “It confirms that states do have the authority to mandate the use of renewables,” he said.

Court Slaps Down Right Wing Attack on Colorado Clean Energy Standard