Fourth Circuit Blocks Maryland Green‑Energy Label Law on First Amendment Grounds

Context Maryland passed the statute in 2024 to curb what it called misleading claims about electricity’s environmental attributes. The law required that any supplier using terms such as “clean energy” or “green” must back the claim with renewable energy credits (RECs) sourced from the PJM Interconnection footprint, which spans parts of twelve states. Suppliers buying RECs from outside that region could not legally market their power as green, even if the credits represented 100 % renewable generation.

Key Facts The appellate panel issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law after finding the state had not shown the restricted speech was misleading. Judge Henry Floyd wrote that the geographic REC limit means a supplier cannot call its electricity “green” even when fully backed by RECs from outside PJM. Chris Ercoli, president of the Retail Energy Advancement League, said the ruling vindicates suppliers’ First Amendment right to provide accurate product information to consumers.

What It Means The decision leaves Maryland unable to enforce its REC‑based labeling rule while the case proceeds, potentially encouraging other states to reconsider similar geographic ties on green marketing claims. Energy suppliers may now use terms like “green” or “100 % emission‑free” as long as they can substantiate the claim with any valid RECs, regardless of origin. Observers will watch whether the state revises the law to narrow the geographic requirement or abandons it altogether, and how the lower court treats the separate disclosure‑statement issue that the appeals court deemed moot for now.