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Brief
The Homer City Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant in Indiana County, which closed in 2023. (Capital-Star photo by Stephen Caruso)
Pennsylvania has missed seven carbon credits auctions since formally joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in April 2022 due to ongoing litigation.
Pennsylvania remains unable to participate in the carbon credit auction, the most recent of which occurred on Sept. 6, due to two “separate but related” lawsuits, regarding the constitutionality of the commonwealth’s involvement in the multi-state program, aimed at limiting and reducing industrial carbon emissions.
The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the cases in late May but has yet to issue an opinion.
Opponents of RGGI have questioned the process by which Pennsylvania entered the program, through an executive order by then-Gov. Tom Wolf.
Citing executive overreach, House committee advances bill blocking Pa. from joining RGGI
Environmental advocates calculate that the commonwealth has missed out on a cumulative $1.5 billion in missed revenue. They say that figure is based on “evaluating the likely number of allowances that Pennsylvania would have offered for sale at each quarterly auction and multiplying those figures by the respective allowance clearing price at each auction.”
The final RGGI auction for 2023 is set to take place on Dec. 6, 2023.
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