ReEnergy Holdings, LLC v. Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

A Connecticut Superior Court agreed with a company that owned two biomass energy facilities in the state that its exemption from a 2013 statute’s reduction of financial support for such facilities had ended when qualifying power purchase contracts ended. The 2013 law responded to “increased scientific understanding that burning carbon based fuels, including wood, contributes to climate change.” It phased out use of renewable energy credits to support certain biomass facilities but included an exemption for biomass facilities that entered into a power purchase agreement with an electric supplier or electric distribution company before June 5, 2013. The court held that the law did not provide that a party that previously held an exemption would lose the exemption if the qualifying power purchase agreement terminated or ended and also rejected the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s argument that it had discretion to revoke the exemption.