Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan, coal-burning power plants are required to cut carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2030 as compared to 2005 levels. The U.S. Court of Appeals will hear arguments on the emissions regulation from energy industry leaders attempting to overrule the regulation. A stay was previously granted in February 2016 by the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the lower court to review legal challenges to the emissions reducing regulation.

But while dozens of industry leaders are challenging the regulation, technology giants Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google have filed briefs in support of the Clean Power Plan. These big businesses, along with many others, are joining together to demonstrate support for the administration’s carbon dioxide emission reduction goals.

As some of the largest users of electricity in the world, many big businesses have collectively vowed to purchase renewable energy that is both economical and reliable. And so far, many have been meeting their clean energy goals. Apple, for example, relies on enough renewable energy to provide electricity to 100 percent of its domestic facilities and 93 percent of its global operations. Google is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy with its commitment to purchase more than 2 gigawatts of renewable energy. Several other large U.S. based businesses have similarly announced plans to increase the use of renewable energy in order to reduce costs and decrease reliance on environmentally harmful fossil fuels. Many of these large corporations have issued letters to their own state governors urging the states to comply with regulations under the Clean Power Plan.

While these businesses recognize that high emission levels have significant negative effects on their operations, other companies that heavily rely on fossil fuels are resistant to such changes. Some states with high concentrations of coal-based businesses have urged their representatives to oppose the plan and instead allow businesses to decide for themselves, without a government mandate, whether to be reliant on renewable energy resources. While the Clean Power Plan offers incentives for choosing renewable energy sources, these companies may still choose coal as their primary energy source if they find that the costs of converting are excessive.

Contact Shane Coons at 949-333-0900 or visit his website at www.ShaneCoonsLaw.com to find out more about his practice.