Facts

Solutions for Utilities and others filed suit over calculating certain renewable energy costs. The case went through the court system for thirteen years, with parties, including Solutions for Utilities, coming and going. In 2019, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the USDC Central's grant of summary judgment in favor of the California Public Utilities Commission but for one issue: how to calculate certain costs for utilities sourcing renewable energy from qualified generation facilities when taking California's Renewable Portfolio standards into account, essentially questioning what price the generation facilities should receive for their electricity. As this was the only issue left, the remaining plaintiffs, Michael Boyd and Robert Sarvey, owners and operators of solar generating facilities, continued the case.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs alleged that defendant failed its statutory and regulatory obligations, specifically complaining that defendant's programs and policies allowed investor-owned utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric, to underpay plaintiffs for the renewable electricity they produced.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants asserted that while plaintiffs attempted to assert numerous claims, their contentions boiled down to conclusory, policy arguments, with their allegations failing to specifically state a valid claim with respect to the narrow and specific question remaining. Moreover, defendants noted that plaintiffs lacked standing to assert the narrow issue involved.

Result

The court granted defendants' motion to dismiss.