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New tailpipe emissions standards set industry floor for transition to electric vehicles

Posted by Adam Winer on Mar 20, 2024

New U.S. EPA targets provide the certainty industry needs to accelerate transition to EVs

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) announced new tailpipe emissions standards for light-duty vehicles sold in the U.S. from 2027 to 2032, providing regulatory certainty for the auto industry on the path ahead and flexibility for automakers on how to reach the end goal of a fully electrified consumer transportation fleet. 

“As we experience increasingly widespread adoption of technologically superior and increasingly popular electric vehicle models, these standards provide clarity and market certainty on the timeframe,” said Ryan Gallentine, Managing Director at Advanced Energy United, a national business association of companies providing clean energy and transportation solutions in America. “Nearly every automaker sees that to keep up with changing consumer interests and global technology trends a quick switch to electric vehicles is in order. As many states raise the ceiling for what’s expected, these federal standards set an industry floor for that transition so that all consumers can have access to reliable, affordable, all-electric vehicles in the coming decade.”

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Topics: Advanced Transportation, Press Releases, Ryan Gallentine

Indiana to Incorporate Total Cost of Ownership Analysis when Purchasing New State Vehicles

Posted by Rory Coleman on Mar 14, 2024

The newly passed law, HEA 1194, is predicted to save millions of taxpayer dollars by factoring lifetime operating costs into state vehicle purchases

INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Holcomb signed into law yesterday a bill requiring the Indiana Department of Administration to apply a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis when purchasing new light-duty vehicles for their state fleet. TCO considers differences in the average cost of fueling and maintaining vehicles, allowing the state to generate significant savings over the lifespan of a vehicle compared to vehicle purchases based on sticker price alone.

Indiana joins states like Nevada and Virginia in applying this good governance measure, which a report last year from national business association Advanced Energy United found could save Indiana $62.4 million over 15 years.

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Topics: Press Releases, Indiana, Electric Vehicles, Trish Demeter

The New York Times: A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals

Posted by Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich on Mar 14, 2024

The New York Times reports on a recent boom in electricity demand in the U.S. that is putting pressure on conventional gas power plants, quoting United's CEO and President Heather O'Neill on the variety of options available for utilities to meet rising demand.

Critics say that regulated utilities often default to building gas plants because it’s a familiar technology and because, in many states, they earn a guaranteed profit from capital projects. They don’t always have the same incentive to adopt energy-efficiency programs that reduce sales or to plan transmission lines that can import cheaper wind power from elsewhere.

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Topics: United In The News, Energy Efficiency, New York, Heather O'Neill

Clean Energy Business Associations Applaud Gov. Shapiro’s Proposal for 35% Clean Energy by 2035

Posted by Savannah Gribbins on Mar 13, 2024

Industry associations and advocates believe new energy standards will bring jobs and investment to the Keystone State 

HARRISBURG, PA – Today, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced a proposal to ensure the Commonwealth generates 35% of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2035, via the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS). Clean energy industry advocacy and trade associations Advanced Energy United, MAREC Action, Pennsylvania Solar Center, Pennsylvania Solar & Storage Industries Association, and the American Clean Power Association applauded the proposal, which will help maximize clean energy growth. 

“Gov. Shapiro’s proposal should help jump start conversations in Harrisburg about how best to bring clean energy’s massive economic and jobs benefits to Pennsylvania,” said Nick Bibby, Pennsylvania State Lead for Advanced Energy United. “Advanced Energy United applauds Gov. Shapiro for issuing his proposal, and we look forward to working with his administration and legislators to ensure Pennsylvania enacts a policy that works for deploying clean energy in the Commonwealth.” 

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Topics: State Policy, Press Releases, Pennsylvania, Nick Bibby

Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Shapiro Pitches Carbon Cap-And-Invest Plan To Capitalize on Pennsylvania’s Energy Exports

Posted by Peter Hall on Mar 13, 2024

Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports on Governor Shapiro's new climate emissions reduction plan, quoting United's Nick Bibby on the proposal's potential to bring more of the economic and jobs benefits of clean energy to the state.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he would immediately pull Pennsylvania out of a multi-state carbon cap-and-trade program if the state Legislature passes his energy plan, which he said Wednesday would reduce carbon emissions while lowering energy costs and creating clean energy jobs.

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Topics: United In The News, Pennsylvania, Nick Bibby

NJ Spotlight News: Op-Ed: The steps needed to get offshore wind back on track in 2024

Posted by Heather O'Neill on Mar 13, 2024

In an opinion piece featured in NJ Spotlight News, United's President and CEO Heather O'Neill writes about the storm of challenges the offshore wind industry faced in the last few post-pandemic year and highlights four key steps to getting the industry back to full power.

After a turbulent 2023, the new year brought some welcome news for the offshore wind industry. Power started to flow from New York’s South Fork Wind and Massachusetts’ Vineyard Wind soon followed suit, meaning that America’s first large-scale projects are now sending clean electricity to its shores for the first time. Meanwhile in New Jersey, the state granted two offshore wind solicitation awards in January, totaling 3,742 megawatts of capacity, enough to power 1.8 million homes when fully operational. 

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Topics: United In The News, New York, Heather O'Neill, Offshore Wind, Massachusetts, New Jersey

Maryland Matters: Gridlock or grid upgrade? Legislation aims to address grid readiness

Posted by Nick Bibby on Mar 11, 2024

In an opinion piece featured in Maryland Matters, United's Nick Bibby speaks to legislation requiring Maryland’s Public Service Commission and utilities do more toward getting the grid ready to handle the influx of EVs and building electrification. 

Would you be surprised if I told you that the number of electric vehicles (EVs) in Maryland increased by over 3,000% since 2013? EVs are continuing their upward trend in Maryland and around the U.S., marking a record 12% market share in December alone. But with all these new EVs in our state and country, how are we preparing our grid for the needed power?

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Topics: United In The News, Electric Vehicles, Nick Bibby

Advanced Energy United response to the State of the Union Address

Posted by Adam Winer on Mar 8, 2024

National business association Advanced Energy United calls on Congress and the States to build on momentum towards a 100 percent clean energy future 

WASHINGTON, DC – Advanced Energy United released the following statement from its President and CEO Heather O’Neill after President Biden delivered the annual State of the Union address:

“We must harness the incredible power of advanced energy technologies to reduce harmful emissions while also lowering energy costs, creating economic opportunity for Americans in all states, and building an energy system we can rely on. As witnessed in recent events across the country, our aging, fossil-fueled electricity system is leaving households and businesses vulnerable to outages. We can fix this by updating our energy infrastructure and doubling down on clean energy and storage investments. The longer we wait, the harder and more expensive this work becomes, jeopardizing more lives and the economic well-being of local businesses and economies.

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Topics: Federal Policy, Press Releases, Manufacturing, Manufacturing and Infrastructure

WVTF: Virginia's regional grid operator ranks last in the nation

Posted by Sandy Hausman on Mar 4, 2024

In an interview, WVTF Virginia Public Radio talks with Advanced Energy United Director Jon Gordon about PJM's low grade on United's 2024 Interconnection Scorecards.

Advanced Energy United... recently ranked all seven of the nation’s regional grid operators and gave the one serving Virginia a grade of D-minus. Policy Director Jon Gordon says PJM – which covers 13 states – used to add a few new power plants a year.

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Topics: Virginia, United In The News, Transmission, Jon Gordon

Utility Dive: Gas utility planning processes should be more like their electric utility counterparts

Posted by Sarah Steinberg and Brad Cebulko on Mar 4, 2024

In an opinion piece featured in Utility Dive, United's Sarah Steinberg and United member company Strategen's Brad Cebulko speak to the outdated gas planning process that allows infrastructure spending to go largely unvetted. The piece highlights a recent  report , authored by Strategen and United, that provides guidance for states looking to improve transparency into or oversight of gas utilities.
 

In business, the only constant is disruption and change. We’ve seen this truth manifest across all industries, from telecommunications to retail to computing and manufacturing. The energy industry is no exception. Both gas and electric energy systems are becoming increasingly complex, with more dynamic supply and demand-side market forces instigating a profound evolution in how our power is sourced, priced and delivered. Change has come quicker to the electric side, but recently we have begun to see how the gas delivery system used to heat and cool homes and businesses is primed for change, and it should challenge the business-as-usual strategies currently used to regulate these essential services for ratepayers across the country.

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Topics: United In The News, Energy Efficiency, Building Decarbonization