On July 30, 2026, the federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) did not preempt the Village of Oak Park’s 2023 ordinance that provided that most new buildings and residences are required to use electricity as their “source of energy” and may not combust “fossil fuels” indoors. The ordinance implemented Climate Ready Oak Park (CROP), which the court described as “a comprehensive planning framework under which the Village plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and protect its residents’ health, safety, and welfare.” The court said the plaintiff challenging the ordinance “heavily” relied on the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in <a href="https://www.climatecasechart.com/collections/california-restaurant-association-v-city-of-berkeley_cfec1d">California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley</a> to argue “that EPCA preempts state regulations concerning energy use and energy use is defined as a quantity of energy consumed by a consumer” and that the ordinance’s requirement “that the ‘quantity’ of energy made by fossil fuels be zero” was therefore preempted. The district court, however, agreed with the Village and the Second Circuit in <a href="https://www.climatecasechart.com/collections/association-of-contracting-plumbers-of-the-city-of-new-york-v-city-of-new-york_c0774d">Association of Contracting Plumbers of the City of New York v. City of New York</a> that “energy use” in EPCA “refers to a predetermined value that is assigned to a product before it reaches consumers.” The court concluded that because the Oak Park ordinance regulated “the types of energy or fuel that covered appliances may use in certain buildings, rather than establishing or affecting the appliances’ federally regulated energy-efficiency or energy-use performance standards,” the ordinance did not “concern” energy use and was not preempted.

Preemption to the Village of Oak Park, Illinois's requiring most new buildings and residences to use electricity as their “source of energy” and restricting combustion of “fossil fuels” indoors.

Clean Energy Choice Coalition, NFP v. Village of Oak Park

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Illinois Federal Court Rejected Preemption Challenge to Village of Oak Park Building Electrification Law

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Illinois Federal Court Rejected Preemption Challenge to Village of Oak Park Building Electrification Law

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Risk

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance