Lawsuit in federal court challenges Colorado’s renewable energy standard

Two Washington, D.C.-based groups and a Morrison resident filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in Colorado challenging the state’s renewable energy standard. The suit, filed by the right-leaning American Tradition Partnership and American Tradition Institute, claims the state’s renewable energy standard initially approved by voters in 2004 violates the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. “The expensive energy mandate doesn’t just kill jobs and drive up prices, it wrongfully interferes with interstate commerce by disrupting the interstate power grid,” said Donald Ferguson, executive director of the partnership. Initially, the standard required power utilities in the state to get at least 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020. Because utilities were far exceeding that goal, the standard has since been raised to 30 percent. The suit claims the standard discriminates against other forms of power, such as natural gas and coal. It claims the commerce clause prohibits states from imposing burdens on the interstate market for electricity...more