Texas Blocks Chinese Solar Grid Access

<p>In <strong>GH America Energy, L.L.C. v. Fohn</strong>, the <strong>United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit</strong> addressed whether the federal <strong>Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)</strong> regime preempts the <strong>Texas Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act (LSIPA)</strong>. GH America Energy, a subsidiary of a Chinese company, argued that LSIPA—which bans certain foreign-owned entities from accessing critical infrastructure like the Texas electric grid—was an unconstitutional intrusion into a field reserved for federal oversight. The court <strong>affirmed the district court&#39;s dismissal</strong>, holding that neither <strong>conflict preemption</strong> nor <strong>field preemption</strong> applies because CFIUS targets a narrow, mostly voluntary class of corporate transactions while LSIPA governs vital intrastate utility regulation. Emphasizing the <strong>presumption against preemption</strong> in areas traditionally managed by state police power, the court concluded that the federal and state laws operate harmoniously without direct contradiction.</p>