News

Public News Service covered New York's push for EV charging infrastructure across the state to meet EV deployment goals by 2025, quoting AEE's Matt Stanberry. Read excerpts below and the entire Public News Service piece here. 

In a push to meet ambitious clean-energy goals, New York is giving a major boost to the expansion of charging stations for electric cars and trucks. The Empire State is committed to having 850,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025. But the state ranks 30th in the nation for the number of electric-vehicle charging stations by population. 

Comments submitted for SCC inquiry on energy storage deployment highlight market opportunities while meeting VCEA implementation targets

RICHMOND, July 29, 2020 — Today, business group Virginia Advanced Energy Economy (Virginia AEE) submitted comments to the State Corporation Commission related to its docket on energy storage deployment* [Case PUR-2020-00120]. The filing responded to a series of questions posed by the SCC. As Virginia AEE's filing highlights, energy storage has a critical role to play in Virginia's energy transition, driven by the recently enacted Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA).

E&E Daily covered President Trump's paired FERC nominees, quoting AEE's Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E Daily piece here. 

President Trump's unexpected nomination of a Democratic and Republican pair to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has eased fears about the agency's ability to function and could ensure a Republican majority on the panel through June 2021. The White House decision to nominate its Republican choice and also someone Democrats have been pushing for months will likely ease the confirmation process... 

Indianapolis Monthly covered the decline of the coal industry in Indiana as renewable energy has begun to increase across the state, quoting Indiana AEE's Caryl Auslander. Read excerpts below and the entire Indianapolis Monthly piece here. 

When Tim Abrams is up at night, sitting at the kitchen table of his rural Sullivan County home fretting about the future of Indiana’s coal industry, he’s not worried so much about his own job... Abrams is concerned because, as president of the County Council, he knows the life-sustaining power coal has given the region, both literally and figuratively through employment. And, like everyone else in the area, he sees the industry dying right before his eyes...

Utility Dive covered Illinois Commerce Commission's rejection of changing regulatory accounting rules to allow partial recovery cloud-based computing costs through customer rates, quoting AEE's Danny Waggoner. Read excerpts below and the entire UD piece here. 

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has rejected a change in regulatory accounting rules proposed by its staff and the state’s utilities, which would have allowed the partial recovery of contracting costs for cloud-based data processing through higher customer rates. The proposal would have allowed utilities to treat at least part of the cost of cloud-based computing services as infrastructure investments just as if they had purchased computer hardware and software and hired staff...

Energy News Network covered the push to repeal Ohio's nuclear bailout bill in light of criminal complaints of bribery and conspiracy that led to passage of the bill in 2019, quoting AEE's JR Tolbert. Read excerpts below and the entire Energy News Network piece here. 

Both Republican and Democratic Ohio lawmakers are pushing to repeal the state’s nuclear bailout bill after this week’s release of a federal criminal complaint against House Speaker Larry Householder and others. Clean energy advocates say that would be a start, but more is needed to address eight years of lawmakers’ actions to slow the growth of renewables in the state. The complaint alleges a $60 million bribery and conspiracy scheme that led to the passage of House Bill 6 last summer, followed by the defeat of a referendum effort to give voters a say on the bill...

Charlotte Business Journal covered the possibility of an energy imbalance market exchange between Duke Energy and other Southeastern energy companies that could span 10 states and 32 million customers, quoting AEE's Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire Charlotte Business Journal piece here. 

The market contemplated by Duke Energy Corp. and other Southeastern power companies could create a massive energy exchange across parts of 10 states with more than 32 million customers from eastern Oklahoma to south Georgia... Skeptics say the devil is in the details. And the power companies say there aren’t enough details yet to share much with regulators, state governments, energy advocates, consumer groups and other interested parties...

ALBANY, NY, July 16, 2020 – Today national business association Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY) reacted to the order in Case No. 18-E-0138* from the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) establishing a statewide electric vehicle charging infrastructure “make-ready” program, which will provide incentives to facilitate the installation of charging stations. This order authorizes $701 million in incentives, which have the potential to stimulate millions of dollars in additional private investment in new electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 16, 2020 — Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) applauded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) decision to unanimously dismiss a challenge to states' net metering policies on procedural grounds. In April, the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) filed a petition* asked FERC to declare "exclusive" jurisdiction over behind-the-meter energy generation, essentially undoing state net-metering rules that compensate customers with rooftop solar or other forms of behind-the-meter resource for the excess energy they periodically supply to the grid.

Following statement is from Jeff Dennis, General Counsel and Managing Director at AEE:

E&E News covered 2020 presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's proposed $2 trillion infrastructure and clean energy plan, quoting AEE's CEO Nat Kreamer. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E News piece here (sub. req.). 

Joe Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure and clean energy plan announced yesterday may have caught the crest of fast-moving trends that are already carrying the U.S. electric power grid toward a zero-carbon future. Or, rather than leading that charge, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee may be pushing the industry toward a summit that still is forbiddingly high. Both possibilities are apparent in what's happening in the U.S. electric power sector today...

Business group CEO notes advanced energy has outpaced overall U.S. growth, employed 3.6 million workers across nation, and is poised to drive economic comeback

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 14, 2020 —  Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) reacted to U.S. Presidential candidate Joe Biden's call for a federal 100% clean energy standard among other policies in his proposed clean energy plan at an event in Delaware. Following statement is from AEE CEO Nat Kreamer:

E&E News covered FERC's Order 841 upheld by a federal appeals court and its impact on energy storage and wholesale markets, quoting AEE's Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E News piece here (sub. req.). 

Renewable and storage advocates are cheering a federal court decision last week upholding a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order aiming to knock down barriers for electric grid-level energy storage. But how much will the order really boost technologies like batteries..?

Utility Dive covered FERC's Order 841 upheld by a federal appeals court and its impact on energy storage and wholesale markets, quoting AEE's Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire Utility Dive piece here. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Friday that a federal storage order does not encroach on states' authority over the distribution system. A three-judge panel of the court said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's 2018 Order 841, intended to expand the ability of storage to participate in wholesale power markets, does not surpass the commission's jurisdiction with its section preventing states from broadly prohibiting energy storage's participation in those markets...

Greentech Media covered the federal appeals court decision upholding FERC's Order 841, a win for the energy storage market, quoting AEE's Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire Greentech Media piece here.

In a victory for the energy storage industry, a federal appeals court has upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 841, clearing the way for transmission grid operators across the country to open their markets to energy storage, including aggregated batteries connected at the distribution grid or behind customers’ meters...

Florida Politics covered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' announcement to allocate $8.5 million from the Volkswagen settlement to improve the state’s EV charging grid, quoting AEE's Dylan Reed. Read excerpts below and the entire FlaPol piece here. 

With funds from the Volkswagen settlement, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida is committing $8.5 million in contracts to improving the state’s electric vehicle charging grid. Florida has received $166 million from the U.S. Department of Justice’s $14.7 billion settlement with Volkswagen for violating the Clean Air Act. Of those funds to benefit air quality improvements, the state can spend 15%, or about $25 million, on electric vehicle charging stations. DeSantis said the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the disbursement, but touted the latest environmental protection update Friday. The 74 new fast electric charging stations could be operational within 60 days...

GTM2 covered the challenges of incorporating DERs into the grid in the context of FERC Order 841 under consideration by U.S. Appeals Court, quoting AEE's Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire GTM2 piece here (sub. req.). 

Back in 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued Order 841, a groundbreaking effort to open interstate transmission grid markets to energy storage systems. Part of FERC’s mandate to the country’s regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) included finding ways to allow aggregated, distribution-grid-connected storage — and eventually, a whole panoply of DERs — to be included in their new market structures...

The Traverse City Ticker highlighted elected and appointed officials in Michigan, noting Dan Scripps who serves on the Mich. PSC, worked previously for AEE. Read excerpts below and the entire Ticker piece here. 

Years after our popular “Where Are They Now: Local Media” series, we’ve decided to revisit the concept with former elected officials in and around Traverse City to find out what they’ve been doing since they left office...

DailyEnergyInsider covered covered the push by energy industry groups, including Advanced Energy Economy, for PJM Interconnection to examine carbon pricing in its market. Read excerpts below and the entire DailyEnergyInsider piece here. 

A coalition of more than two dozen energy industry groups wrote the regional transmission organization PJM Interconnection LLC this week to implore it to continue examining carbon pricing for its market, both in terms of policy options and their implications. The letter was in response to ongoing efforts by U.S. policymakers to grapple with the reality of climate change through cost-effective solutions. Numerous states either have or are considering policies to reduce carbon emissions in the electric sector without harming wholesale markets...

S&P Global covered a new DOE report on fossil energy development in Appalachia region of Va., quoting Virginia AEE's Harry Godfrey that notes new direction of state toward clean energy. Read excerpts below and the entire S&P Global piece here. The story was reposted July 2 by CoalZoom.Com here.

A U.S. Department of Energy report encourages continued government intervention to help attract private investment into energy production and manufacturing in the Appalachian region. Few other regions have the potential for new growth "at a scale not seen since the Industrial Revolution," the DOE said in the report, released June 30. It casts Appalachian economic viability during the recovery from economic slump associated with the coronavirus pandemic as a key indicator for prospects for overall US economy...

S&P Global reported on New England's collaborative "Future Grid Study" to transition energy resources,quoting AEE's Caitlin Marquis. Read excerpts below and the entire S&P Global piece here (sub. req.).  

With the energy transition underway in New England, power market participants are considering transition pathways that could include installing 58 GW-71 GW of generation capacity and 3 GW-10 GW of storage capacity by 2040, along with critical market changes.

E&E News noted AEE's role in a coalition's call for PJM to consider carbon pricing. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E News piece here (sub. req.).

A broad coalition of power generators, industry groups and think tanks is pushing the nation's largest grid operator to examine cost-effective, market-based ways to address climate change. More than 30 groups — including Advanced Energy Economy, the American Council on Renewable Energy, the Natural Gas Supply Association and the R Street Institute — called on PJM Interconnection LLC yesterday to double down on efforts to examine carbon pricing in its electricity markets. The PJM region spans 13 Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia...