Professor Frank Comments on Energy Law Dispute for Daily Journal

Professor of Environmental Practice Richard Frank commented for the Daily Journal on a Washington utility company's claim that California's new renewable energy purchasing rules put in place barriers to out-of-state competition that violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.  As part of a strategy intended to lower the state's greenhouse gas emissions, the California Public Utilities Commission requires that preference be given to purchases of electricity from renewable sources from companies that can supply it directly through the state's power grid, scuttling a deal the utility had planned and leading to threats of a legal challenge.

Professor Frank said that renewable energy portfolios "are a relatively new context in which this constitutional issue is being raised and debated." If the utility company's case significantly undermines the state's renewable energy purchasing policy, "it will be extremely influential in how effectively or ineffectively these climate change strategies are implemented," he said.

Frank, a 1974 graduate of King Hall, is a leader in the field of environmental law and the founding Director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.