Minnesota’s Next Gen Energy Act unconstitutional
April 19th, 2014
Judge Susan Richard Nelson issued an order yesterday declaring Minnesota’s Next Generation Energy Act unconstitutional because it “constitutes impermissible extraterritorial legislation and is a per se violation of the dormant Commerce Clause.”
I finally found a copy of the decision, I was looking in all the wrong places. Here’s the Order (thanks to the STrib for posting it):
April 18 2014 Order – Next Generation Energy Act Suit Minn. Stat. 216H.03
It’ll likely be appealed, but I wouldn’t bet on any success. The impact of this decision will be what I’ve been expecting — dreadful — the doors are open for even more coal plants (note the discussion of surplus capacity in the decision) and with CapX mostly built, we’ve got the infrastructure for 50+ years of coal generated electricity exports across Minnesota to market, and 50+ years of mercury for our fish, and all those emissions for us to breathe. Great, just great.
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