Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Public Service Commission of Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) granted for construction of the Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC), a natural gas-fired electric generating facility. The court found that the Commission did not err in not assigning a burden of proof to the applicants or in its understanding that its decision would have to survive review under a “substantial evidence” standard. The court also found that the Commission correctly interpreted the statutory standards that applied to its determinations and that substantial evidence supported its findings. In addition, the Court of Appeals found that the Commission reasonably determined under Wisconsin’s Energy Priorities Law that “higher priority” renewable sources were intermittent and that “lower priority” energy sources such as NTEC were needed “to complement and sustain” the higher-priority resources. The court also rejected the claim that the environmental impact statement for the project did not sufficiently address greenhouse gas emissions, including indirect impacts from hydraulic fracturing.