Historic Montana youth climate lawsuit upheld by state Supreme Court
A youth-led climate lawsuit won another historic decision today, with the Montana Supreme Court upholding a 2023 ruling that the state must consider climate change and environmental protections in the approval process for new energy projects.
It’s the first youth-led climate lawsuit to have this level of success in the US, possibly setting precedent for others around the country.
The lawsuit, Held v. Montana, was brought by 16 Montana plaintiffs between ages 5-22, and supported by Our Children’s Trust, a law firm representing youth climate lawsuits across the country.
At issue was the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), signed by Montana Governor (and violent criminal) Greg Gianforte. MEPA explicitly disallows consideration of environmental factors in the approval process for oil and gas permits. The youth argued that this law violated their rights under the Montana state constitution, which guarantees the right to “a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.”
Judge Kathy Seeley of the First Judicial District Court of Montana first ruled in favor of the youth in 2023, holding that greenhouse gases cause significant harm to the plaintiffs, and invalidating the Montana law that stops environmental review as “unconstitutional on its face.”
The state then appealed the decision, with the support of fossil fuel companies, despite the unequivocal clarity in the Montana constitution’s guarantee of a clean and healthful environment. The Montana Attorney General’s office falsely said that Montana, home of the largest coal reserves in the US and one of the highest rates of emissions per capita in the country, can have “no meaningful impact” on the climate. This is incorrect, as coal is the dirtiest fuel humans use for power, and Montana’s emissions per capita are roughly 4x as high as California’s.
And today, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold Judge Seeley’s decision, by a 6-1 margin. So it wasn’t even close. The state’s Constitution, which explicitly calls for a healthful environment, really does require the state to aim for a healthy environment, according to the Court.
The 2023 ruling was the first ruling in favor of a youth-led climate lawsuit in the US, several of which have been proceeding through state and federal courts in recent years. In 2024, Hawaii youth won a settlement that will lead to transformation of the state’s transportation system to achieve zero emission operation for all ground transport and inter-island sea and air transport by 2045.
Some other lawsuits, though, have been prematurely dismissed by courts.
The most notable example is Juliana v. US, which argues that the federal government has violated the due process clause in depriving these youth of their rights to life, liberty, and property through environmental degradation.
This lawsuit was blocked by the 9th District Court in California in 2020 in a split 2-1 decision, ruling on the ridiculous grounds that the youth did not have standing to bring a lawsuit on these claims. Standing means that plaintiffs must show that they have suffered injury from a law in order to file a lawsuit over it.
So, despite that children and all other living things are in actual fact harmed by a declining environment, the district court still said the youth couldn’t bring the lawsuit.
The Juliana plaintiffs are continuing to try to get their case heard, and are currently appealing to the US Supreme Court – which is no stranger to bonehead opinions, and has taken a number of bizarre positions on the issue of standing lately. So we’ll have to see how that turns out.
But the Held decision today reaffirmed the first real precedent in the US, in the form of an actual ruling set by a court, stating that the rights of young people to a clean and healthful environment have been violated by law. It may be a particularly egregious law in this case, and as such there may not be quite as perfect a set of circumstances as this in other lawsuits, but nevertheless this decision could light a fire under other cases in other states.
And best yet – there’s nowhere else for the state or the oil industry to take this case. This is a state case about state law, so the US Supreme Court has nothing to do with it. It’s now final: Montana needs to respect its own law and take the environment into account, just as its Constitution says it does.
And now, this case could serve as a signal to other judges that it is indeed possible and reasonable to take a stance in favor of the best interests of the people, and in favor of constitutional law, rather than cowing to the power of the fossil fuel industry (even in a state that is largely run by it).
Great job, kids.
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Members of the US energy industry has committed to investing $100 billion over the next five years to build and buy American-made batteries for large, utility-scale deployments of battery energy storage systems (BESS).
Executives from the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and several utility company representatives said Tuesday that they were committed to a fivefold increase in active investments that could, according to the Association, lead to 100% American-made BESS projects – but that vision depends on both a streamlined permitting environment and predictable tax and trade policy, the ACP said.
This commitments “demonstrate what success can look like,” said ACP CEO Jason Grumet, adding that many industry players have been waiting in a sort of holding pattern until some long-term clarity develops around Trump’s tariff and trade policies. “There is a remarkable tension right now between probably the best fundamentals for investment in the energy sector that we’ve seen in a generation and the greatest amount of uncertainty that we’ve seen in a generation.”
Those fundamentals involve rapidly dropping battery costs with increasing density – and that efficiency improvement is coming with reliability, too, Hyundai joining Tesla (and others) in delivering batteries good for hundreds of thousands of miles of driving. The tension, of course, comes from the fact that most batteries, today, are made in Asia.
Form Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo says his company sources more than 80% of its battery content in the US and much of the rest from Europe and “non-China Asia.” And, while they’re working to re-shore even more, they remain exposed to heavily tariffed Chinese-made inputs.
Form eventually hopes to source raw iron from US mines in Michigan and Minnesota – and they’re not alone. Executives from other companies spoke up as well:
COVID-era disruptions across the global battery supply chain convinced Fluence that an energy storage market as robust as the United States’ needed a stronger domestic manufacturing base, Fluence Americas President John Zurancik said in the press briefing. The company’s U.S. investments are now bearing fruit as it expects to deliver its first U.S.-made lithium-iron-phosphate, or LFP, batteries this week for deployment later this year, he said.
Like Fluence, LG Energy Solution Vertech expects to significantly expand its U.S. manufacturing operations in 2025 and 2026. The South Korean battery powerhouse will adapt existing production lines at its Holland, Michigan, factory to deliver 16.5 GWh of stationary storage batteries this year and add 11 GWh of new capacity in 2026, its CEO said in a statement provided by ACP.
Even industry stalwarts like Wärtsilä have begun sourcing components for the container-based Quantum 3 BESS system we covered last summer from a geographically diverse set of suppliers, with manufacturing capacity across different regions of North America, Asia, and Europe. This should enable the company’s customers to take advantage of any local tax incentives while avoiding the kind of tariffs impacting global battery markets.
The ACP’s announcement adds about $85 billion to a set of “active investments” worth $10 billion to $15 billion, executives with the trade group said in a press briefing.
Electrek’s Take
Battery energy storage just makes sense – and it’s being leveraged in smart ways by companies like Zenobē, who are using smart BESS deployments to help hold down ratepayer costs while improving grid resilience and reliability. Volvo, too, is working to develop rapidly deployable BESS solutions that can support temporary job sites and disaster relief efforts.
Then there’s the rich people. Located in Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest storage project will feature a 5.2 GW solar PV plant coupled with a 19 gigawatt-hour (GWh) BESS. You can check that out here, then let us know what you think of all these projects in the comments.
SOURCE: Utility Dive; featured image via Wärtsilä.
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Ava Community Energy just rolled out a new program in California that pays EV and plug-in hybrid drivers for charging their cars when electricity on the grid is cleaner and cheaper.
The new Ava SmartHome Charging program, launched in partnership with home energy analytics platform Optiwatt, offers up to $100 in incentives in the first year. And because the program helps shift home charging to lower-cost hours, Ava says drivers could save around $140 a year on their energy bills.
EV and PHEV owners who are Ava customers can download the Optiwatt app for free, connect their vehicle, and let the app handle the rest. The app uses an algorithm to automatically schedule charging when demand is low and more renewable energy is available, typically overnight or during off-peak hours.
“Ava is on a mission to provide 100% clean energy to our customers by 2030,” said CEO Howard Chang. “This new program helps us get there by giving people an easy way to charge on more renewable energy while simultaneously saving money.”
Drivers who enroll get a $75 bonus for joining, and can earn an extra $25 per year if they stay enrolled. Optiwatt shifts charging to off-peak times, and it takes into account the customer’s individual schedules and preferences.
Casey Donahue, who founded Optiwatt, says this program is a win for everyone. “We can move a lot of energy use to cleaner, more affordable times by using smart algorithms and the growing EV base,” he said. “That benefits every Ava customer.”
The program is available to most EVs and plug-in hybrids. All it takes is signing up through the Optiwatt app (iOS, Android, or web) and completing a quick verification process. Savings and rewards start right away.
The Oakland-based not-for-profit public power provider aims to enroll at least 5,000 vehicles by the end of 2025. The company says this program is the first step in a broader virtual power plant (VPP) strategy. It’s powered by Lunar Energy’s Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) platform, Gridshare, which will help Ava coordinate energy from EVs, home batteries, and more.
Ava Community Energy was founded in 2018 and now serves 2 million people in Alameda County, California, and the cities of Tracy, Stockton, and Lathrop.
Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles
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Environment
Jeep is teasing the new Grand Cherokee, but where’s the EV version of its best-selling SUV?
The Grand Cherokee is due for a refresh, and we just got our first look at it. Jeep claimed “the next chapter in the story of America’s best-selling full-size SUV begins” after releasing the first official images of the updated model. When will we see the Jeep Grand Cherokee as an EV?
2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee first look
Days after revealing the new Compass, Jeep is teasing another refreshed model, its best-selling Grand Cherokee.
Although it was the best-selling full-size SUV in the US last year, the Grand Cherokee is due for an update. The latest model was launched in 2021, but Jeep added a two-row version in 2022.
It remained Jeep’s top seller in the US last year with over 216,000 models sold, but sales were down 12% compared to 2023. It was also one of the best-selling plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles, with over 27,500 4xe models
Jeep is giving us our first official look at the updated 2026 Grand Cherokee, inside and out. The first image previews the front end, which features new LED headlights and a revamped seven-slot grille, similar to the new Compass.
The interior is restyled with a simplified setup and other minor infotainment and climate control display adjustments. The preview also shows an added passenger screen.
When will Jeep launch the Grand Cherokee EV?
Jeep will continue to assemble the updated SUV in Detroit. The new 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee will be available as a two-row, three-row L, and a plug-in hybrid 4xe, but when will we see an EV version? The outgoing 4xe model is already one of the top three selling PHEVs in the US, so a fully electric version would make sense.
As part of its 2023 agreement with the UAW, Jeep revealed plans to launch the Grand Cherokee EV in 2027. It was scheduled to be built at the Detroit Assembly Complex, but plans have likely changed since then.
Jeep’s new Compass will be available as an EV, but only in Europe. At least for now. Stellantis halted operations at its Brampton Assembly plant earlier this year, where the Compass is built, as it “reassesses its product strategy in North America.”
For those in the US, Jeep currently offers one EV. The Wagoneer S (pictured on the left above), Jeep’s first global electric SUV, starts at $65,200 and has a range of up to 294 miles.
Later this year, Jeep is expected to launch the Recon EV (pictured on the right above), a rugged electric SUV like a Wrangler.
Jeep is currently offering employee pricing plus an extra $1,500 cash allowance on top of the $7,500 EV tax credit on 2025 Wagoneer S models. If you’re looking to snag some savings, you can use our link to find Jeep Wagoneer S models in your area today.
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