News

Broad coalition jointly requests FERC technical conference or workshop to discuss carbon pricing in wholesale electricity markets 

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 14, 2020 — As U.S. policy makers look for cost-effective ways to tackle climate change, a diverse coalition of power generators, trade associations, and think tank experts this week asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to examine the policy options and implications of carbon pricing policies in competitive wholesale electricity markets. The request, submitted before FERC by a broad cross section of the electric industry and think tank voices, comes at a time when many states, utilities and electric markets are already considering policies that reduce carbon emissions in the electric sector and grappling with whether to integrate carbon pricing directly into the markets.

Sun Sentinel published an opinion piece by AEE's Dylan Reed detailing the opportunity for solar energy in Florida building on FPL's new customer option and featuring AEE's Opportunities for Meeting C&I Demand for Renewable Energy in Florida report. Read excerpts below and the entire Sun Sentinel piece here. 

New law puts Commonwealth on the path to economic recovery and healthy communities; to put tens of thousands of Virginians to work while reaching 100% Clean Energy by 2045

RICHMOND, April 13, 2020 - Gov. Ralph Northam's signature of the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) makes the Commonwealth the first among Southern states to set a goal of 100 percent low-cost and efficient clean energy by 2045. The Act provides incentives for wind and solar power development, consumer ownership of rooftop solar systems, and steps to make old buildings and new construction more energy efficient. Among the goals set in the Act is a target of 5.2 gigawatts of power to come from offshore wind - enough energy to power 1.5 million Virginia homes.

Inside INdiana Business featured an updated story about a recent AEE report that shows economic benefit of renewable energy to Indiana, quoting Indiana AEE's Caryl Auslander. It appeared in a newsletter for the tech industry. Read excerpts below and the entire Inside INdiana Business piece here. 

Energy News Network covered Virginia House Bill 528 that increases state regulators authority over monopoly utilities, and the Virginia Clean Economy Act, quoting AEE's J.R. Tolbert. Read excerpts below and the entire Energy News Network piece here. 

A scantly noticed bill curated by a freshman legislator from northern Virginia elicited giant cheers from Dominion Energy watchdogs when it passed both the Senate and the House of Delegates just seven days before the General Assembly adjourned on March 12. Though overshadowed by the Virginia Clean Economy Act, supporters view the success of House Bill 528 as a momentous first effort to shift power from utility monopolies and toward regulators and ratepayers...

Grist's Beacon Newsletter reported on the economic impact of COVID-19 on renewable energy companies referencing AEE's member survey in its daily roundup. Read excerpts below and the entire Grist piece here. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is pushing clean energy businesses to the brink, halting work to make buildings more efficient and install chargers for electric vehicles. The industry group Advanced Energy Economy reported that nearly a third of its members have reduced their workforces because of the virus, and nearly half have been unable to complete work due to the new restrictions...

E&E News covered the $2 trillion stimulus bill noting AEE CEO Nat Kreamer's open letter to Congress, the administration, and quoting AEE's Dylan Reed. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E News piece here (sub. req.). 

The historic $2 trillion rescue bill moving through the House today was probably never going to be a green stimulus bonanza. But when the short-term crisis is over, Congress and the White House will have to turn their attention to the resulting recession, if not depression. And that's when the debate will begin in earnest over whether recovery legislation should create jobs by propping up flagging petroleum and coal producers or by helping the renewable energy sector. It's those recovery packages — which are likely to come over the next year, when the balance of power in Washington may have changed — that will hash out whether companies that tap into federal aid must improve their climate performance...

E&E News covered industry impact of the economic decline on the advanced energy industry, including AEE's survey findings. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E News piece here. 

The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), which represent developers and a wide variety of organizations with an interest in clean energy, conducted separate surveys of their members and found widespread concern that developers could miss deadlines for claiming federal tax credits for renewable projects. As many as three-fourths of respondents told ACORE they expected at least some impact on their ability to qualify for credits, and 57% said the impact would be "significant."

PV Magazine reported Arizona Corporate Commission is initiating a process to establish rules for reaching 100% renewable energy by 2050, featuring AEE's 100% clean energy states tracking map. Read excerpts below and the entire PV Magazine piece here. 

The Arizona Corporation Commission has directed its staff to develop a set of rules to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050, said Commission Chair Robert Burns in a letter on Wednesday. Commissioner Sandra Kennedy wrote the same day that while she preferred a standard of 100% clean energy by 2040, because “the science is clear regarding the need for aggressive decarbonization,” she would support a 2050 deadline to achieve majority agreement.

Virginia Mercury covered how the current economic and financial crisis may affect implementation of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, quoting AEE's JR Tolbert and AEE member Sigora Solar's Karla Loeb. Read excerpts below and the entire Virginia Mercury piece here. 

Three weeks ago, Virginia’s Democrat-led General Assembly passed the most ambitious plan for transitioning off of fossil fuels and onto renewable energy sources to come out of the South yet. It was a banner moment for environmentalists. Among the promises they secured were state commitments to build out 24 gigawatts of solar, wind and energy storage by 2035 — almost 40 percent more than the existing capacity of the fossil fuel units owned by the state’s largest utility, Dominion Energy — and annual targets that would bind the utilities to progressively including more and more renewables in their energy portfolios. Then the new coronavirus hit, and the financial markets tanked.