Jefferson Solar, LLC v. Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection

Citations

• 224 Conn. App. 688

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute (§ 16-244z (a) (1) (C)), the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (department) is required ''to develop pro- gram requirements and tariff proposals for shared clean energy facilities'' subject to the approval of the state Public Utilities Regulatory Agency (PURA). Pursuant further to statute (§ 4-176 (a)), any person may petition an agency for a declaratory ruling as to the applicability to specified circumstances of a provision of the General Statutes, a regulation, or a final decision on a matter within the jurisdiction of the agency. The plaintiff, a renewable energy developer, brought an action for a declara- tory judgment pursuant to statute (§ 4-175), seeking to have the Superior Court issue a ruling as to whether a bid submitted by the defendant F Co. in response to a 2020 request for proposals for shared clean energy facilities satisfied a site control program requirement developed by the defendant department pursuant to § 16-244z (a) (1) (C). I Co., an electric company, had issued the request for proposals seeking bids for shared clean energy facility projects in its service territory, and the plaintiff and F Co. submitted bids to I Co. Bidders were required by the department's program requirements to show that they had control of the generation site or an unconditional right to acquire control or an unconditional option agreement to purchase or lease the site. F Co.'s bid, which contained an option to lease agreement, was selected by I Co. and was ultimately approved by PURA. The plaintiff petitioned the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection to issue a declaratory ruling stating that the department erred in concluding that F Co.'s bid satisfied the site control program requirement and that the department's failure to remove the bid from the rankings was arbitrary and capricious. The commissioner declined to issue the ruling, stating that the plaintiff failed to identify any statute, regulation or final d