Supreme Court Denial Of LCFS Suit Could Boost ESPS' Renewables Focus

摘要

The Supreme Court has declined to hear fuel industry groups' appeal of a ruling rejecting their claims that California's low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) violates the Constitution's commerce clause, a decision that could bolster states looking to craft low-carbon renewable energy programs to comply with EPA's utility greenhouse gas (GHG) rule.In a June 30 list of orders, the high court without comment said it has denied petitions for writs of certiorari to hear three related cases challenging a 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upholding the state's fuel standard. The decision is a significant boost for California's novel LCFS, and a major loss for fuel groups that argued the program was unlawful for discriminating against higher-carbon fuel sources from outside the state.