Appeals court upholds Colorado’s renewable energy mandate

Colorado’s renewable energy mandate has been upheld by a federal appeals court.

The mandate was challenged by a free-market advocacy group that argued that the renewable energy requirements violate the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit claimed that the requirement that large utilities such as Xcel Energy get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources violates constitutional protections for interstate commerce.

The plaintiffs argued that because electricity can go anywhere on the grid and come from anywhere on the grid, Colorado mandate illegally harms out-of-state companies.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver disagreed. The three-judge panel ruled that the mandate does not wrongly burden out-of-state coal producers. The judges also pointed out that Colorado voters approved the mandate.