AEE Applauds Gov. Brown for Enacting Suite of Laws to Accelerate California's Advanced Energy Leadership

 Bills supported by AEE members will expand the state's market for distributed energy resources, EV charging infrastructure, the range of clean fleet vehicles, the Direct Access program for clean energy, energy efficiency for agriculture and industry, microgrids and technologies to improve grid resilience.

SACRAMENTO, Oct. 1, 2018 — National business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) applauded Governor Jerry Brown for signing a range of laws this year that will accelerate California's advanced energy market and solidify the state's leadership in expanding clean energy.

“The suite of laws presented by the legislature and enacted by Governor Brown cements California's leadership in adopting secure, clean and affordable energy resources and accelerates the competitive market for advanced energy technologies," said Amisha Rai, Senior Director of California Policy for AEE. “California is the proving ground that demonstrates we can pursue advanced energy options while at the same time spurring economic growth, innovation and jobs. Today we lead the nation with more than 542,000 advanced energy workers and employers expect hiring to grow 10% this year."

The bills most recently signed that AEE and its many California member companies actively supported included:

• SB 700* (Wiener) extends the state's Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) for five years incentivizing distributed energy technologies such as customer-sited energy storage (signed into law Sept. 27).
• AB 2145* (Reyes) enables new investments to modernize the state’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure (signed into law Sept. 22).
• AB 2061* (Frazier) creates a more level playing field for clean fleets (enacted Sept. 20).
• SB 237* (Hertzberg) reopens the state’s much-in-demand Direct Access program, by increasing the cap and creating a path for businesses and critical energy users statewide (including school districts, hospitals, and data centers) to access affordable clean energy, pending a CPUC assessment (enacted Sept. 20, see Advanced Energy Buyers Group statement here).
• SB 1131* (Hertzberg) paves the way for energy efficiency investments in two of the state’s largest energy-consuming sectors, agriculture and industry, by improving a project evaluation process (enacted Sept. 19).
• SB 1339* (Stern) creates market opportunity for microgrids and boosts necessary grid hardening and resiliency for critical infrastructure in an age of worsening natural disasters (enacted Sept. 19).

Governor Brown signed these related bills earlier in this session:

• SB 100* (de León) ratchets up the existing RPS to 60% by 2030 and requires utilities to meet a 100% clean energy standard through diverse advanced energy technologies by 2045 (enacted Sept. 10, see AEE's statement here). 
• AB 2127* (Ting) to enable more efficient, scalable buildout of EV charging infrastructure (across all vehicle classes) statewide by affirming the California Energy Commission’s authority to do comprehensive planning, building upon its quarterly assessment (enacted Sept. 13, see AEE's statement here).
• AB 1796* (Muratsuchi) expands access to EV charging on rent-controlled properties (signed into law Aug. 20).
• SB 957* (Lara) expands ZEV access statewide by establishing a pathway for low-income drivers to be eligible for the carpool lane (signed into law Sept. 13, see AEE's statement here).

In August, AEE released the latest employment data showing that California has more than 542,000 people working in advanced energy — a figure that exceeds the number of workers in hospitals (395,419), and nearly twice as many as those working at supermarkets and grocery stores (297,167) across the state. Companies surveyed expect their hiring to result in job growth of 10% across the state in 2018. California is the clear leader in advanced energy employment nationally, with more than one in every six of the 3.4 million people working in U.S. advanced energy located in California.

"This legislative session was a tremendous step forward for California, and our next governor will have the opportunity to shepherd successful implementation and build on this progress," said Rai. 

Earlier this year, AEE members met with gubernatorial campaigns ahead of the state primary, and released a policy roadmap to the campaigns of Democratic nominee Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republican nominee John Cox outlining how advanced energy can drive economic growth in the state.

*Note: Access the latest bill language and action including votes, via AEE’s PowerSuite Tool with a trial subscription. Complimentary permanent access available for credentialed press, just contact me after you sign in on trial and decide to keep.

About Advanced Energy Economy 
Advanced Energy Economy is a national association of businesses that are making the energy we use secure, clean, and affordable. Advanced energy encompasses a broad range of products and services that constitute the best available technologies for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. AEE’s mission is to transform public policy to enable rapid growth of advanced energy businesses. AEE and its state and regional partner organizations are active in 27 states across the country, representing more than 1,000 companies and organizations in the advanced energy industry which now employs 3.4 million U.S. workers. Learn more at www.aee.net and track our latest news @AEEnet. 

Media Contact
Monique Hanis, mhanis@aee.net, 202-391-0884 
Amisha Rai, arai@aee.net, 415-640-7908