(263a) Legal Implications and Drivers in Sustainable Energy

Sustainable Energy approaches are influenced by many factors, including some legal drivers, as well as resource limitations. Legal drivers include mandatory renewable energy targets in state energy production adopted by state governments, as well as voluntary commitments, which upon adoption become mandatory for the adopting entity. The impact of environmental and resource regulation, when enforced more agressively upon conventional energy sources, results in either mandatory sustainable measures, such as carbon dioxide capture, and possibly geologic sequestration. Where regulation is absent, common law tends to fill the voids, such as the landmark case, Connecticut v. American Electric Power, where a state agency is suing a power company to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions based upon a theory of "public nuisance." The availability of resources also tends to drive sustainable energy and sustainability in general, including processes that require less water, where water is less available, and processes that emit less air pollution, because ambient air quality has been impacted and emissions must be capped. This discussion will highlight the motivations driving continued development of sustainable energy to provide perspective for the following technical sessions.