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.

“A fossil-fueled electric grid is expensive and unreliable, and instead of looking to build new gas plants or prolong the life of old coal plants, utilities should be taking advantage of the cheaper, cleaner, and more trusty tools in the toolbox,” said Heather O’Neill, President and CEO of Advanced Energy United. “There are a lot of prospective energy technologies being developed, but the most efficient and cost-effective way to power our electric grid is by scaling up use of the proven, clean, and reliable tech we already have.” 

The toolbox of advanced energy technologies includes wind, solar, energy storage, geothermal, demand flexibility, energy efficiency, and grid-edge solutions that pay consumers for the energy they send back to the grid. Even with energy use projected to grow in the coming years, studies show that power plants can meet the U.S. EPA’s new standards and utilities can meet electricity needs with existing tools. 

“Congress recently passed the Inflation Reduction Act and other laws in part to empower utilities and consumers to switch to energy solutions that are more resilient to extreme weather,” added O’Neill. “Gas and coal power plants are both causing extreme weather and are less reliable in extreme weather. We have so many less-polluting, less-costly tools to replace them with, and utilities should do so as quickly as possible.” 

Research produced on behalf of Advanced Energy United shows that, thanks to changing market conditions and the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, utilities may find that switching to a portfolio of clean energy resources, including solar, wind, and storage, can provide equivalent energy and capacity at a lower cost than newly proposed gas plants.