Calling it a "precedent-setting decision," two associations representing the solar and wind industries are celebrating a recent U.S. appeals court ruling upholding Colorado's renewable energy requirements.

Colorado law requires 20 to 30 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, with the exact percentage depending on the source. However, a conservative group—the Energy and Environment Legal Institute—challenged the law on the basis it would harm out-of-state coal producers that sell to out-of-state utilities that provide energy to Colorado, according to Bloomberg BNA.

A district court ruled against E&E Legal. Last week, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the lower court ruling, saying the organization had failed to make its case.

Among the interveners in the case was the Solar Energy Industries Association, which hailed the ruling as a victory that upheld similar renewable energy mandates in 28 other states.

"Because electricity can go anywhere on the grid and come from anywhere on the grid, and because Colorado is a net importer of electricity, Colorado's renewable energy mandate became a ‘target' for people and groups hoping to freeze or rollback RPS programs—not only in Colorado, but also in other states around the nation," SEIA CEO Rhone Resch said.

The American Wind Energy Association also intervened in the case through its regional partner, the Interwest Energy Alliance. AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan called the ruling a "landmark day."

"The nation's 29 renewable energy standards continue to play a important role in diversifying the country's electricity portfolio's in order to advance key public policy interests—including protecting consumers against fuel-price risk, improving overall system reliability and creating significant clean air and water benefits such as reducing carbon pollution and conserving fresh water," he said.

For its part, E&E Legal called the court decision a "harmful opinion straying from well-established precedent."

The group said it has not yet decided whether to appeal to decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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