U.S. District Court Decides in Favor of New York’s Clean Energy Standard

(New York, NY – July 25, 2017) A federal court says that New York’s plan to advance clean energy and reduce climate pollution is constitutional.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York today dismissed a challenge to the state’s Clean Energy Standard, including its zero-emissions credit (ZEC) program, 

Judge Valerie Caproni ruled in the case, Coalition for Competitive Electricity v. Zibelman, holding:

“The ZEC program is plainly related to a matter of legitimate state concern: the production of clean energy and the reduction of carbon emissions from the production of other energy.” (Decision, page 31-32) 

“Today’s court decision is a victory for communities and families across New York that will have greater climate security, healthier air and cleaner energy,” said Environmental Defense Fund Senior Attorney Michael Panfil. “The court strongly affirmed the state’s authority to protect New Yorkers from climate pollution – an outcome that could not be more critical at a time when the U.S. government is failing to protect human health and the environment from the dangers of climate change.”

Environmental Defense Fund filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief in support of the state of New York. 

New York’s landmark Clean Energy Standard charts a course for the state to achieve a 40 percent reduction in statewide greenhouse gases by 2030, and for 50 percent of New York’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2030. 

The ZEC program is a component of the state’s Clean Energy Standard. It will ensure that dangerous climate pollution is properly accounted for in New York’s electricity generation portfolio. 

“New York’s commitment to clean, zero-emitting energy will have profound health and safety benefits for millions of New Yorkers,” said Rory Christian, Environmental Defense Fund’s Director of New York Clean Energy. “With today’s court decision, New York can continue to be a national leader in the effort to protect the world from the dangers of climate change.”

In October, a group of electricity generation companies challenged the ZEC program in court, claiming it was unconstitutional because it improperly usurped the power of the federal government. 

Today, the court struck down that argument, holding:

“The [Federal Power Act] is a paragon of cooperative federalism; it divides responsibility for the regulation of energy between state and federal regulators … statutes such as the [Federal Power Act], where ‘coordinate state and federal efforts exist within a complementary administrative framework, and in the pursuit of common purposes, the case for federal pre-emption becomes a less persuasive one.’”  (Decision, page 15) 

This is the third court win in a row for state clean energy plans. In similar cases, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided in favor of Connecticut’s renewable energy policy in June, and a U.S. District Court ruled in favor of Illinois’ clean energy plan earlier this month.