The Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed the certification of six out-of-state wind farms to sell renewable energy to Ohio markets in a 5-2 ruling issued on Tuesday, according to records from the Supreme Court of Ohio. The decision upholds a prior ruling by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) permitting Avangrid Renewables to supply renewable power from facilities located in noncontiguous Midwestern states.
Legal Challenge Over Out-of-State Renewable Certification
According to court documents from the Supreme Court of Ohio, Carbon Solutions Group (CSG) challenged the PUCO certification. CSG, which represents Ohio-based renewable energy developers and facilities, argued that the administrative record lacked sufficient evidence to prove the wind farms met state statutory criteria. Specifically, CSG contested whether the facilities demonstrated that their generation resources were physically deliverable into Ohio.
Ohio law mandates that electric distribution utilities and retail electric service companies source a portion of their electricity from qualifying renewable energy resources, including wind and solar. For facilities located in states that do not share a border with Ohio, developers must prove that the generated energy can be delivered into the state under a commission-approved framework established in a 2011 regulatory proceeding known as the Koda decision.
Court Majority Rules on Deliverability Standards
Writing the majority opinion, Tenth District Court of Appeals Judge Julia L. Dorrian—sitting for Justice Jennifer Brunner—stated that the commission’s determination regarding deliverability was supported by the manifest weight of the evidence. Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy and Justices R. Patrick DeWine, Daniel R. Hawkins, and Megan E.
The majority found that the commission appropriately relied on distribution-factor or power-flow studies, known as DFAX studies, conducted by regional transmission organizations. While noting that the commission could have articulated its reasoning more methodically, the majority concluded that PUCO addressed both its rationale and the underlying facts in a manner consistent with state statutory requirements under R.C. 4903.09.
Dissenting Opinions and Transmission Reliability Questions
In a partial concurrence and partial dissent, Justice Patrick F. Fischer argued that the commission fell short of explaining how power from the wind farms met the state’s deliverability definition, according to the Supreme Court of Ohio records. Joined by Third District Court of Appeals Judge John R. Willamowski—sitting for Justice Joseph T. Deters—Justice Fischer pointed out that reports submitted by the wind farms indicated transmitting electricity to Ohio was only hypothetically possible.
The dissenting opinion contended that the matter should be remanded to the commission to address challenges concerning the reliability of the transmission reports. However, the majority opinion held that procedural bars prevented the court from reaching the merits of CSG’s secondary legal arguments regarding specific procedural rules.
Impact on Ohio Wholesale Electricity Markets
The six certified Avangrid facilities are situated in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa, operating within the footprint of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). Meanwhile, wholesale electricity markets in Ohio are managed by PJM Interconnection, making cross-system transmission impact studies a focal point of regulatory compliance for out-of-scale green energy assets seeking participation in Ohio’s retail renewable portfolio programs.
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