WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a joint letter to Congress today, a diverse coalition of more than 40 national and regional organizations and companies requested robust funding for electric transmission deployment and research in the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget.
In the letter, the groups highlight how upgrading and expanding the nation’s transmission network has taken on new immediacy.
“For the first time in two decades, demand for electricity is rising,” the groups explain. “Capacity exists to support this increasing demand and with the right investments can be brought online quickly.”
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Federal Policy,
Press Releases,
Transmission
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) finalized the rules for a new Coordinated Interagency Authorizations and Permits program (CITAP). The program is designed to streamline coordination across agencies and make the U.S. DOE a main point of contact between developers and the federal government. National business association Advanced Energy United submitted comments last year about the proposal.
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Federal Policy,
Press Releases,
Caitlin Marquis,
Transmission
Canary Media reports on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rules pushing utilities to retrofit fossil-fuel plants with new technologies or swap them out for clean energy alternatives, quoting United's President and CEO Heather O'Neill on the opportunity the rules present for utilities to pivot to advanced energy solutions.
On Thursday, the Biden administration issued rules to dramatically reduce carbon emissions and pollution from U.S. power plants, while top officials weighed in with an important message: Clean energy is more than ready to supplant the fossil-fueled power plants the new regulations are intended to curb.
The long-awaited rules, the result of nearly a year of work at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will require individual states to craft plans for ensuring that coal-fired plants slated to stay open past 2039 control 90 percent of their carbon pollution from 2032 onward. Newly built “baseload” fossil-gas-fired power plants that operate more than 40 percent of the year must do the same.
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Federal Policy,
United In The News,
Heather O'Neill
Advanced Energy United calls on utilities to switch to more affordable and reliable tools for powering the U.S. electric grid
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced newly finalized emissions regulations for existing coal-fired power plants and new gas plants. Advanced Energy United, the national association of businesses united in their mission to achieve 100% clean energy and electrified transportation in America, expressed support for the regulations and called on utilities to do right by ratepayers by embracing cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable solutions for powering the electric grid.
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Federal Policy,
Press Releases,
Heather O'Neill
WASHINGTON, DC – A new antidumping/countervailing duty petition has been filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission requesting imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.
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Regulatory,
Press Releases
KUNM reports on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Solar For All program, which distributed $156M in grants set to unlock affordable, resilient, clean solar power to households across New Mexico. The article quotes United's Michael Barrio on the program's potential in the state.
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United In The News,
New Mexico,
Michael Barrio
Canary Media reports on U.S. solar panel makers' petition to the Commerce Department for new tariffs on panels imported from Southeast Asia, quoting Advanced Energy United and other clean energy groups on market volatility the petition would trigger.
First Solar and Qcells, the two largest solar-panel manufacturers in the U.S., have joined a coalition of domestic suppliers calling for new tariffs on below-cost and state-subsidized panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The coalition, calling itself the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, is filing petitions today with the U.S. International Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce. The cases are intended to spur an investigation into the trade practices of manufacturers in those four countries and the extent to which they are harming the U.S. solar industry.
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Federal Policy,
United In The News
The Solar For All program is giving out $7 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 60 grants, worth up to $7 billion, for states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and nonprofits for its Solar for All program. The program is expected to benefit over 900,000 households in low-income communities and generate roughly $350 million in annual energy savings by increasing access to affordable, resilient, and clean solar and storage technology.
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Federal Policy,
Press Releases,
Harrison Godfrey
The Chicago Tribune reports on PJM Interconnection's low grade in the recently released Advanced Energy United Generator Interconnection Scorecard and the direct impacts of the entity's slow grid connection process.
Ninety miles west of Chicago, the corn and soybean fields stretch to the sky, and dreams of the clean energy future dangle — just out of reach. To the east of Route 52, there’s the first phase of the 9,500-acre Steward Creek solar farm, in the works since 2019. To the west, there’s South Dixon Solar, which once hoped to begin construction on 3,800 acres in 2022.
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Wholesale Markets,
United In The News
Transmission policies key for achieving NY’s broader clean energy goals
ALBANY, NY— Today, the New York legislature passed a state budget which included transmission policies that should help the state meet its clean energy goals. National business association Advanced Energy United highlighted how the Renewable Action Through Project Interconnection and Deployment (RAPID) Act could help streamline and improve transmission project siting, via shifting oversight of those projects to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), and shifting ORES to the Department of Public Service.
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Press Releases,
New York,
Transmission,
Kristina Persaud
Utility Dive reports on the New York Independent System Operator's newly launched program to integrate aggregations of distributed energy resources (DERs) into wholesale markets. The article quotes Advanced Energy United on its critique of the program's 10 kW limit that restricts access for many clean energy resources.
“FERC’s acceptance of our landmark model is a huge win for grid reliability and energy consumers in New York,” NYISO President and CEO Rich Dewey said in a Wednesday statement.
In its application to revise its market rules to allow DER aggregation, NYISO said the 10 kW threshold “balances the need for efficient administration” of wholesale markets alongside the “value that small facilities can reliably provide the bulk power system.”
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Wholesale Markets,
United In The News,
FERC
E&E News reports on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Solar for All program, meant to reduce energy costs and lower pollution in poor areas across the U.S., quoting United's Harry Godfrey on the program's potential to promote distributed generation and community solar deployment.
EPA is expected to announce the recipients of a $7 billion climate program on Monday that aims to lower energy costs and reduce pollution in poor communities across the country by installing solar power systems on homes.
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United In The News,
Harrison Godfrey
E&E News reports on the U.S. Department of Energy's recent report spelling out the advantages of advanced technologies in expanding grid capacity, quoting United's Amisha Rai on how advanced technologies could solve much of the country’s electricity challenges.
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United In The News,
Amisha Rai
E&E News reports on the key takeaways from the highly anticipated West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative proposed framework that could help create a new electricity market. The article quotes United's Brian Turner on the progress Nevada and Colorado are making in joining an RTO.
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United In The News,
Western RTO,
Brian Turner
Virtual power plants can provide opportunities for Californians to deliver power back into the grid
SACRAMENTO, CA— A new study from Brattle Group evaluates the potential of five different consumer technologies that could improve California’s electricity grid.
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Press Releases,
California,
Edson Perez
E&E News reports on a new study from the Brattle Group that finds that Virtual Power Plants can serve more than 15 percent of peak electricity demand in California. The article quotes United's Edson Perez uplifting the benefits VPPs have to offer.
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United In The News,
California,
Edson Perez
RTO Insider reports on the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative’s highly anticipated straw proposal. The article quotes United's Leah Rubin Shen applauding the decision and building on CAISO's Energy Imbalance Market and Extended Day-Ahead Market.
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United In The News,
Leah Rubin Shen,
Western RTO
Western Regional Electricity Market Progress Continues to be Made
Today, the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative Launch Committee released a straw proposal that outlines a plan to establish an independent entity to oversee Western markets, building on the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO) Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) and extended day-ahead market (EDAM). Clean energy industry representatives from Advanced Energy United, Pattern Energy, and Enel North America applauded the proposal, which will help advance efforts to build a regional transmission organization (RTO) in the West.
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Wholesale Markets,
Press Releases,
Leah Rubin Shen,
Western RTO,
California
Updated November 6, 2024: Alex Gonzalez of Utah News Connection published an accompanying Public News Service broadcast for this piece. Listen to the full audio here.
Utah News Dispatch reports on the growing interest in virtual power plants (VPPs) and quotes United's Brian Turner, who emphasizes VPPs' potential as a cost-effective and flexible solution to rising electricity demand.
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Topics:
United In The News,
Brian Turner,
Virtual Power Plants,
Solar,
utah
H.B. 862, a bill to advance grid-enhancing technologies, was signed into law last night by Gov. Glenn Youngkin
RICHMOND, VA – Last night, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a grid-enhancing technologies bill into law after it passed the General Assembly with bipartisan support. H.B. 862, proposed by Del. Phil Hernandez and endorsed by national business association Advanced Energy United, will improve grid reliability and increase the capacity of the existing grid to keep up with the Commonwealth’s growing energy needs.
The bill requires that electric utilities in the state consider grid-enhancing technologies (GETs), a suite of technological upgrades that could add 30-40% more capacity to the current grid and save the Commonwealth money on grid congestion costs, in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) process.
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Advanced Transportation,
Press Releases,
Kim Jemaine,
Transmission
Utility Dive reports on the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)'s recommendation to join Southwest Power Pool’s Markets+ initiative instead of the California Independent System Operator’s planned day-ahead market. The article quotes United's Leah Rubin Shen, who classifies BPA's decision as premature due to the ever-changing landscape.
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Topics:
United In The News,
Leah Rubin Shen,
Western RTO
Power Grid International reports on Maryland's new law requiring electric utility companies to allow vehicle-to-grid systems to interconnect to the state’s electric distribution network, quoting United's Nick Bibby on the significance of the passing in the state's effort to prepare its grid for electric vehicles.
The Maryland General Assembly has passed a law that would create a bidirectional EV charging program aimed at allowing EVs to not only draw power from the grid, but also supply electricity back, effectively turning EVs into mobile energy storage units.
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United In The News,
Electric Vehicles,
Maryland,
Nick Bibby
The DRIVE Act paves the way for advancements in electric vehicle and grid integration, and bolsters Maryland’s energy resiliency
ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Distributed Renewable Integration and Vehicle Electrification (DRIVE) Act (H.B. 1256) was passed by the Maryland General Assembly last night and is now poised to modernize the state’s energy management and grid preparedness. Advanced Energy United, a national business association representing over 100 businesses including transmission developers, electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, and charging infrastructure providers, gave written testimony in support of the legislation to the House Economic Matters Committee earlier this legislative session.
“The DRIVE Act shows that Maryland is serious about getting its electric grid ready for an electrified future,” said Nick Bibby, Maryland State Lead for Advanced Energy United. “This legislation will help residents and businesses tap into the unique capabilities of clean energy resources and electric vehicles to lower energy costs and support the resiliency of the electric grid.”
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Topics:
Advanced Transportation,
Press Releases,
Electric Vehicles,
Maryland,
Nick Bibby