Nuclear Energy Institute urges appeals court to uphold Illinois zero-emissions credit program

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) recently filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, urging the court to uphold Illinois’ zero-emissions credit (ZEC) program, which pays nuclear facilities for their environmental attributes.

“ZEC programs represent one means by which states can support nuclear power’s beneficial climate attributes,” NEI said. “These programs are extensions of widely-accepted state renewable energy credit (REC) programs.”

Illinois’ ZEC program, established late last year, uses the Social Cost of Carbon metric to compensate nuclear plants for the environmental benefits of their zero-emissions energy.

In July, the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) and other entities filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ZEC program, which the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois dismissed. The court found that the program does not infringe on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)’s authority to regulate interstate wholesale electricity sales.

NEI argues that the principle of cooperative federalism enables states to define and support their own environmental policy goals regarding electricity generation. The federal government has the power to regulate wholesale markets to optimize prices, NEI said, while states can regulate retail sales of electricity and commodities other than electric energy as well as establish and implement programs to meet their environmental goals, even if those programs impact market prices and participation.

“ZECs, like RECs, are separate and distinct from the wholesale markets because they are commodities traded independently from energy and capacity,” NEI said.