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.

Biomass energy facilities owner lawsuit seeking interpretation of 2013 law to allow facilities to retain renewable energy credits.

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

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Connecticut Court Said Plaintiff’s Biomass Facilities Remained Exempt from Phase-Out of Renewable Energy Credit Eligibility

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

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Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

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Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Energy derived from biological compounds that are renewable due to their short life cycle within the carbon dioxide cycle.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

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Connecticut Court Said Plaintiff’s Biomass Facilities Remained Exempt from Phase-Out of Renewable Energy Credit Eligibility

Policy instrument

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance