Energy & Environment Legal Institute v. Epel

43 F. Supp. 3d 1171, 2014 WL 1874977, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64285
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedMay 9, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 11-cv-00859-WJM-BNB
StatusPublished

This text of 43 F. Supp. 3d 1171 (Energy & Environment Legal Institute v. Epel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Energy & Environment Legal Institute v. Epel, 43 F. Supp. 3d 1171, 2014 WL 1874977, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64285 (D. Colo. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ EARLY MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING DEFENDANTS & INTERVENOR-DE-FENDANTS’ EARLY MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

William J. Martinez, United States District Judge

This action challenges the constitutionality of Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard statute, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 40-2-124. In this case’s current posture, Plaintiffs seek a declaration that the provision requiring that Colorado utility companies obtain an increasing proportion of their electricity from renewable sources violates the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.' (Sec. Am. Compl. (ECF No. 163) pp. 40-45.)

Before the Court are the following motions: (1) Plaintiffs’ Early Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (“Plaintiffs’ Motion”) (ECF No. 180); and (2) Defendants and Intervenor-Defendants’ Early Motion for Summary Judgment on Claims 1 and 2 (“Defendants’ Motion”) (ECF No. 186). For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs’ Motion is denied and Defendants’ Motion is granted.

I. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate only if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Henderson v. Inter-Chem Coal Co., Inc., 41 F.3d 567, 569 (10th Cir.1994). Whether there is a genuine dispute as to a material fact depends upon whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or conversely, is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248-49, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Stone v. Autoliv ASP, Inc., 210 F.3d 1132 (10th Cir.2000); Carey v. U.S. Postal Serv., 812 F.2d 621, 623 (10th Cir. 1987).

A fact is “material” if it pertains to an element of a claim or defense; a factual [1174]*1174dispute is “genuine” if the evidence is so contradictory that if the matter went to trial, a reasonable • party could return a verdict for either party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The Court must resolve factual ambiguities against the moving party, thus favoring the right to a trial. Houston v. Nat’l Gen. Ins. Co., 817 F.2d 83, 85 (10th Cir.1987).

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff Energy and Environment Legal Institute1 (“EELI”) is a non-profit organization which describes itself as being dedicated to the advancement of rational, free-market solutions to land, energy, and environmental challenges in the United States. (Am. Compl. ¶ 3.) EELI also promotes coal energy, and believes that the impact human activities have had on the rise in global temperatures is an open question. (ECF No. 188 IT 3; ECF No. 194-1.) Plaintiff Rod Lueck is a member of EELI who resides in Colorado. (Id. ¶4.) Defendants Joshua Epel, James Tarpey, and Pamela Patton are members of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. (Id. ¶¶ 6-8.) The Intervenor-Defendants are various non-profit organizations devoted to preserving the environment or promoting renewable energy resources and industries. (See, ECF Nos. 21 & 73-75.) For purposes of this Order, the Court’s reference to “Defendants” includes the named Defendants and the Intervenor-Defen-dants'.

In 2004, Colorado voters passed Amendment 37, which was intended to promote the development and utilization of renewable energy resources. (Id. ¶60.) Amendment 37 was codified in 2005 as the Renewable Energy Standard statute (the “RES”) at Colo. Rev. Stat. § 40-2-124. Although Plaintiffs originally challenged other aspects of the RES, at this point in the case, the only remaining claims assert that Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 40-2-124(l)(c)(I), (V), (V.5) and 40-2-124(3), (4), and their implementing regulations codified at 4 Colo. Code Regs. §§ 723-3 et seq. (together, the “Renewables Quota”), violate the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. (Id. ¶¶ 137-51.)

The Renewables Quota requires each retail utility to generate, or cause to be generated, renewable energy resources in specified minimum amounts. (Id. ¶¶ 137-141.) As originally formulated, the Re-newables Quota required certain Colorado electric utilities to provide 10% of then-retail electricity sales from renewable sources by 2015. (ECF No. 186-1 at 23.) Since the RES was adopted, the Colorado Legislature has amended the statute three times to increase the Renewables Quota and to add different kinds of electricity generation entities.

As it currently stands, the Renewables Quota includes three distinct requirements depending on the type and size of electric utility. By 2020, investor-owned utilities such as Xcel must obtain 30% of then-retail electricity sales from renewable sources. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 40-2-124(1)(C)(I)(E). Cooperative electric associations serving 100,000 or more utility meters must obtain sufficient renewable energy to supply 20% of their electricity by 2020. Id. § 40-2-124(l)(c)(V.5). Cooperative associations serving fewer than 100,000 utility meters, as well as large municipal utilities, must obtain 10% of their retail sales from renewable sources by 2020. Id. § 40-2-124(l)(c)(V)(D).

[1175]*1175The RES allows utilities to meet their Renewables Quota by either generating or buying renewable power directly, or by purchasing renewable energy credits. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 40-2-124(l)(d). The RES defines the types of energy that can be credited towards a utility’s Renewables Quota, and includes certain types of both recycled energy and energy generated from renewable sources. Id. § 40-2-104(l)(a). Recycled energy is energy captured from the heat from exhaust stacks or pipes that would otherwise be lost, and which does not combust additional fossil fuel. Id. § 40-2-104(l)(a)(VI). The RES’s definition of renewable energy resources includes solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydroelectricity with certain restrictions. Id. § 40-2-104(l)(a)(VII).

The RES and its implementing regulations also create a system of tradable renewable energy credits that may be used by a utility to fulfil its Renewables Quota. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 40-l-104(l)(d). For a Colorado utility to use renewable energy (or renewable energy credits) towards its Renewables Quota, it must seek approval from Colorado’s Public Utility Commission. 4 Colo. Code Regs. § 723-3-3656. Certain utilities must also submit to the Public Utilities Commission a plan detailing how they intend to comply with the Renewables Quota, including estimates of the amount of renewable energy that will be generated by various sources. Id. § 723-3-3657. An approved plan carries a rebuttable presumption that the utility is acting with prudence. Id. § 723-3-3657(c).

In April 2011, Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit challenging six aspects of the then-existing statutory scheme. (ECF No. 1.) The case was stayed pending resolution of jurisdictional and immunity issues. (ECF No.

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Bluebook (online)
43 F. Supp. 3d 1171, 2014 WL 1874977, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64285, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/energy-environment-legal-institute-v-epel-cod-2014.