Colorado Environmental Law Journal

Introduction Net energy metering (“NEM”) is an important tool used by states to promote residential solar energy and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. In simple terms, NEM is an electricity billing method that credits commercial or residential photovoltaic (“PV”) system owners for the electricity they provide to the grid.[2] The net metering rate is the price that residential solar customers can expect to receive for the electricity they send to the grid. NEM acts as a strong incentive to invest in residential solar Continue reading →

Introduction On September 23, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed twenty-four historic bills focused on climate and clean energy efforts, drought, and wildfire preparedness.[3] Included within that slate of bills was Assembly Bill (“AB”) 843, which allows Community Choice Aggregators (“CCAs”) to submit eligible bioenergy projects to the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) for cost recovery.[4] This article explores the potential benefits and issues that could impact California’s energy market as CCAs begin to develop biomass energy projects under AB 843. It also details background Continue reading →

Introduction For the last two decades, policy makers from around the globe have foreseen the need to derive and implement solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change. And the impetus for these solutions is confronting the world in real time. Recently the United Nations Secretary General referred to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2022 report as an “atlas of human suffering,” as he pointed to the fact that half of the world’s population in cities is vulnerable to climate change effects, and noted Continue reading →

Abstract Climate change and its destabilizing effects are already here. Yet there is a chance to prevent even worse scenarios if carbon emissions can be quickly and drastically reduced, especially in the carbon-intensive energy sector. While the need to transition to low-carbon, renewable sources of energy is urgent, many legal, political, and economic barriers stand in the way of an efficacious and equitable shift away from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources. One such barrier involves the massive investments that have already been made in Continue reading →

Introduction The global crisis of climate change looms large over every aspect of our society today. It presents an increasingly potent existential danger to humanity, as the widespread consequences of rising global temperatures include increasing ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, more frequent heatwaves and droughts, and extreme and unseasonal natural disasters and weather events.[2] The results of a warming planet are already wreaking havoc on the ecosystems, biodiversity, and civilizations of Earth. And the devastating effects on people’s food security, water supply, health, and livelihoods, Continue reading →

Introduction The Biden Administration’s efforts to combat climate change by moving toward clean energy are poised to have an outsized impact on Indigenous communities if critical minerals slated for clean energy projects are obtained through new mining. This is because much of the untapped supply of these minerals is located near tribal land. The nation’s transition to clean energy, including increased production and use of solar photovoltaic plants, electric vehicles (“EV”), and wind farms, requires a greater use of certain minerals. Critical minerals include copper, Continue reading →