Latest news with #environmentalgroups
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
California Supreme Court rules rooftop solar credit rollback needs revisiting, rejecting deference to CPUC
The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that state regulators were given undue deference in deciding to roll back rooftop solar credits for homeowners, reversing an appeals court ruling that upheld the regulators' decision. The 2022 decision by the California Public Utilities Commission, which reduced payments to solar panel owners for selling excess power back to utility companies, was upheld by the state Court of Appeal in December 2023 following a lawsuit by environmental groups. The appeals court did not rule on the legality of reducing payments to solar panel owners for their excess power under a program known as "net energy metering," only that the decision was within the CPUC's authority. In Thursday's ruling, the state Supreme Court also did not rule on the legality of the reduced payments, but sent the case back to the appeals court to determine whether the CPUC exceeded its authority with the new policy. "We do not decide whether the court's ultimate conclusion that the tariff [paid to customer-generators] is consistent with [Public Utilities Code] section 2827.1 is correct or incorrect - only that the Court of Appeal erred by applying an unduly deferential standard of review to reach that conclusion." The high court reversed the Court of Appeal ruling and directed it to determine whether the changes to the solar program were legal, handing at least a temporary victory for the environmental groups that challenged the state's new policy. The groups maintain that the reduced payments have cratered the adoption of rooftop solar in California, especially in low-income communities, and led to huge layoffs in the industry. Utilities and regulators argued that the previous net metering payments meant non-solar customers were subsidizing the grid infrastructure, and the reduction in payments made bills more affordable for all customers. The reduced compensation also incentivized homeowners to combine solar panels with battery storage systems. Currently, solar power customers who purchased their systems after April 2023 would fall under the new NEM 3.0 policy, and the compensation for excess energy generated is based on the utility's avoided cost, rather than the retail rate for excess electricity. In a statement to CBS News Bay Area, a CPUC spokesperson noted the NEM 3.0 policy would remain in place as the Court of Appeal revisits the lawsuit. "We appreciate the Court's careful attention to the appropriate standard of deference for reviewing CPUC decisions," said Terrie Prosper, CPUC director of strategic communications. "We are pleased that the CPUC's decision will remain in effect as an important part of controlling electricity bills." Roger Lin, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the high court decision reins in a "runaway commission, which is putting corporate utilities ahead of Californians' pocketbooks, the climate and the law." "Commissioners are hobbling the renewable energy transition by mischaracterizing critical opportunities for local power generation and conservation," he added in a prepared statement. "This is outrageous when so many people are struggling to pay their electric bills. I hope this ruling prompts regulators to craft a new rooftop solar policy that's in the public interest rather than padding fossil fuel utility profits." "California needs a large, thriving rooftop solar market to meet its clean energy goals," said Bernadette Del Chiaro, senior vice president for California with Environmental Working Group in a statement. "The market is currently being stifled by the CPUC's misguided NEM 3 decision threatening to undermine not only consumer choice and grid stability but also the state's ambitious clean energy goals. We look forward to spotlighting just how illegal and out of step with California the CPUC has become."
E&E News
2 days ago
- E&E News
Judge orders halt to ‘unlawful' PFAS discharges into Ohio River
Chemical giant Chemours must stop spewing large amounts of 'forever chemicals' into the Ohio River, a drinking water source for over 5 million people, a district judge ruled Thursday. In a victory for environmental groups and people who live near the company's West Virginia factory, Judge Joseph Goodwin ruled that Chemours' discharges violate the Clean Water Act and endanger 'the environment, aquatic life and human health.' 'Today, that unlawful, unpermitted discharge stops,' Goodwin, a Clinton appointee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, wrote in the order. Advertisement Chemours 'strongly' disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal, said company spokesperson Jess Loizeaux.
E&E News
2 days ago
- Politics
- E&E News
Federal judge orders 2-week construction pause at ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
MIAMI — A federal judge Thursday ruled construction must temporarily stop at 'Alligator Alcatraz' as hearings challenging the Everglades-based detention center's environmental impact continue. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered the state to, at the very least, stop installing additional lighting, infrastructure, pavement, filling or fencing and to halt excavation for 14 days. She called the request for the temporary restraining order from the plaintiffs, which represent environmental groups, 'pretty reasonable' to prevent further interruption to the ecosystem. The judge, an Obama-era appointee, said the plaintiffs had introduced evidence of 'ongoing environmental harms.' 'I think that evidence is sufficient to support the plaintiffs' claims,' she said, pointing to how many elected officials, including presidents, had lauded the Everglades over the years and wanted it to remain 'pristine.' Advertisement The decision came after Williams heard arguments from expert witnesses theorizing that newly created pavement in the area would have consequences on America's largest wetlands. The airstrip housing the detention center is surrounded by the federally protected Big Cypress National Preserve, a fragile ecosystem home to endangered species like the Florida bonneted bat and the Florida panther.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
California Supreme Court rules rooftop solar credit rollback needs revisiting, rejecting deference to regulators
The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that state regulators were given undue deference in deciding to roll back rooftop solar credits for homeowners, reversing an appeals court ruling that upheld the regulators' decision. The 2022 decision by the California Public Utilities Commission, which reduced payments to solar panel owners for selling excess power back to utility companies, was upheld by the state Court of Appeal in December 2023 following a lawsuit by environmental groups. The appeals court did not rule on the legality of reducing payments to solar panel owners for their excess power under a program known as "net energy metering," only that the decision was within the CPUC's authority. In Thursday's ruling, the state Supreme Court also did not rule on the legality of the reduced payments, but sent the case back to the appeals court to determine whether the CPUC exceeded its authority with the new policy. "We do not decide whether the court's ultimate conclusion that the tariff [paid to customer-generators] is consistent with [Public Utilities Code] section 2827.1 is correct or incorrect - only that the Court of Appeal erred by applying an unduly deferential standard of review to reach that conclusion." The high court reversed the Court of Appeal ruling and directed it to determine whether the changes to the solar program were legal, handing at least a temporary victory for the environmental groups that challenged the state's new policy. The groups maintain that the reduced payments have cratered the adoption of rooftop solar in California, especially in low-income communities, and led to huge layoffs in the industry. Utilities and regulators argued that the previous net metering payments meant non-solar customers were subsidizing the grid infrastructure, and the reduction in payments made bills more affordable for all customers. The reduced compensation also incentivized homeowners to combine solar panels with battery storage systems. Currently, solar power customers who purchased their systems after April 2023 would fall under the new NEM 3.0 policy, and the compensation for excess energy generated is based on the utility's avoided cost, rather than the retail rate for excess electricity. In a statement to CBS News Bay Area, a CPUC spokesperson noted the NEM 3.0 policy would remain in place as the Court of Appeal revisits the lawsuit. "We appreciate the Court's careful attention to the appropriate standard of deference for reviewing CPUC decisions," said Terrie Prosper, CPUC director of strategic communications. "We are pleased that the CPUC's decision will remain in effect as an important part of controlling electricity bills." Roger Lin, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the high court decision reins in a "runaway commission, which is putting corporate utilities ahead of Californians' pocketbooks, the climate and the law." "Commissioners are hobbling the renewable energy transition by mischaracterizing critical opportunities for local power generation and conservation," he added in a prepared statement. "This is outrageous when so many people are struggling to pay their electric bills. I hope this ruling prompts regulators to craft a new rooftop solar policy that's in the public interest rather than padding fossil fuel utility profits." "California needs a large, thriving rooftop solar market to meet its clean energy goals," said Bernadette Del Chiaro, senior vice president for California with Environmental Working Group in a statement. "The market is currently being stifled by the CPUC's misguided NEM 3 decision threatening to undermine not only consumer choice and grid stability but also the state's ambitious clean energy goals. We look forward to spotlighting just how illegal and out of step with California the CPUC has become."
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Judge orders temporary halt to new construction at Alligator Alcatraz
A federal judge in Miami on Thursday ordered construction to be paused at Florida's Alligator Alcatraz, the first state-run detention center in the country opened to accommodate the Trump administration's arrest of immigrants. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams for the two-week pause in new construction at the facility in the Everglades followed a hearing in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and joined by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians.
