DC Circuit Court Sides with Solar and Storage Industry and Sends Southeast Energy Exchange Market Case Back to FERC

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reconsider its Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM).

The court ruled in favor of several issues that the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) raised throughout the proceedings, including ruling against geographical limitations that would have excluded independent power producers from participating in SEEM and ruling for greater accessibility to transmission services for non-SEEM participants.

Following is a statement from Melissa Alfano, director of energy markets and counsel at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA):

“We are pleased to see that the DC Circuit Court of Appeals protected the fundamental principles of open access to energy markets today. The Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) discourages competitive bidding and new market entrants, emboldening utilities to slow-walk the transition to renewable energy. This setup would only serve the interests of entrenched monopoly utilities at the expense of consumers across the Southeast.

“SEIA has long advocated in favor of competition and against the self-serving, discriminatory model, serving as a leading voice in the case against this harmful proposal. SEIA looks forward to continuing to advocate for more competition and greater clean energy development as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reconsiders the matter.”

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About SEIA®: 

The Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA) is leading the transformation to a clean energy economy, creating the framework for solar to achieve 30% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030. SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies and other strategic partners to fight for policies that create jobs in every community and shape fair market rules that promote competition and the growth of reliable, low-cost solar power. Founded in 1974, SEIA is the national trade association for the solar and solar + storage industries, building a comprehensive vision for the Solar+ Decade through research, education and advocacy. Visit SEIA online at www.seia.org and follow @SEIA on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Media Contact: 

Jen Bristol, SEIA’s Senior Director of Communications, jbristol@seia.org (202) 556-2886