News

America’s $374 billion advanced energy industry poised for accelerated growth thanks in part to the Inflation Reduction Act

WASHINGTON, DC, August 16, 2023 – A year after its signing, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is working as intended, fueling a new era of investment in domestic advanced energy manufacturing and empowering the growth of the technologies and services America needs to secure a 100% clean energy future. 

The recently published Market Reportby Advanced Energy United found that the advanced energy industry – made up of several sectors including building efficiency, advanced transportation, electricity distribution and generation, and advanced fuel production – grew by 14% in market size from 2021 to 2022, up to $374 billion. Those figures have the potential to be dwarfed by the growth stemming from the investments fueled by the IRA. Combined with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021, the IRA is expected to lead to roughly $444 billion in federal investment and $1.2 trillion in private investment, resulting in $2.8 trillion in total GDP, 23 million jobs, and $60 billion in annual consumer savings – all told, a six-fold return in investment in federal dollars in advanced energy growth. 

To celebrate the moment, Advanced Energy United President and CEO Heather O’Neill released the following statement, anticipating the next era of policies needed to reach our clean energy goals: 

Poll finds bipartisan support for added incentives behind state standard for clean energy zoning and permitting

INDIANAPOLIS, August 15, 2023 – A new statewide poll of likely Indiana voters found widespread support for clean energy resources and for rules that would make it easier to build clean energy in the state.

Cygnal, an international polling and public opinion firm, surveyed 800 likely voters from July 17-18, finding widespread support for renewable energy across the state. A majority of respondents supported  wind (60%) and solar (70%) in the state’s energy production mix, and a majority of respondents from all regions of the state said they would be more likely to vote for candidates in 2024 who supported Indiana’s renewable energy development.

The poll also found 67% of Hoosiers, including a majority of Republicans, would favor legislation to require a uniform standard for the zoning, permitting, and location of renewable energy projects in the state, while four-fifths agreed Indiana should strive to provide consistent and clear regulations to help attract businesses and boost the economy. Over half of all respondents said they would support using state funds to create a financial incentive for local governments that voluntarily adhered to the state standard.

New rule would establish the Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits Program

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Advanced Energy United, a national association of businesses united in their mission to achieve 100% clean energy and electrified transportation in America, applauded a newly proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Energy that would create a program to streamline federal permitting processes.

In particular, the new program would put the Department of Energy in charge of coordinating all agencies involved in the environmental review process, and cap the process at two years.

“Transmission developers are facing inefficient and lengthy review processes to getting projects permitted and approved, leading to increased costs and delayed timelines,” said Caitlin Marquis, Managing Director at Advanced Energy United. “Electric transmission lines are the essential backbones of our power grid, and building more transmission leads to lower energy costs and improved grid reliability. A more efficient permitting program that maintains essential review processes will provide more certainty for developers and support a stronger, more resilient power grid.

In an opinion piece for the Arizona Daily Star, former director of the Maricopa County Department of Public Health Bob England and Advanced Energy United's Arizona state lead Michael Barrio highlight the importance of creating a regional transmission organization in the Western U.S. to strengthen and broaden the grid to better withstand extreme weather and avoid large-scale blackouts.

A study published in late May projected that if Arizona’s electric grid fails during a summer heat wave (like the one we are in right now), it could lead to more than 12,000 deaths and send nearly 800,000 Phoenix residents to the hospital for heat-related illness. And that’s just within the City of Phoenix, not counting the rest of the state. Those are astronomical numbers, and especially unsettling given that the past eight years have been the hottest on record and the next eight will likely be even hotter.

Canary Media examines the newest approval of reforms by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to improve the efficiency of interconnection projects, quoting Caitlin Marquis on the anticipated positive and negative impacts of the commission's ruling.

The U.S. has far more clean energy projects seeking to connect to the grid than utilities and grid operators can handle. It’s a crisis that has been decades in the making, but one that must be resolved in the next few years if the country is to meet its climate goals.

Last Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a sweeping set of reforms to address one facet of that crisis: the need to streamline and modernize the rules and processes that govern how power projects interconnect to the nation’s transmission grids.

Energy Wire reports on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)'s approval of a major rule in July 2023 aimed at improving the interconnection process. In the article, Caitlin Marquis is quoted, expressing overall support for the ruling and FERC's efforts to incorporate feedback from the developer community.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a major new rule Thursday to accelerate the connection of energy projects to the power grid, a move that could ease widespread delays stifling renewable energy.

The final rule aims to make the grid connection process more efficient at a time of unprecedented growth in clean energy development nationwide.

Calling the decision “historic,” FERC acting Chair Willie Phillips said changes in the rule will make the electric system more reliable by helping new energy projects come online faster. All four FERC commissioners voted for the plan.

FERC directs Transmission Providers to implement cluster studies, among other reforms

WASHINGTON, DC, July 27, 2023- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted today to finalize rules regarding how interconnection queues across the nation should be governed. The ruling establishes requirements that must be met by all public utility transmission providers, such asRegional Transmission Operators (RTOs), Independent System Operators (ISOs), and utilities in non-RTO/ISO regions. The long-awaited final rule follows up on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the Commission last July, in which the Commission recognized that interconnection backlogs threaten reliability and just and reasonable rates. Requirements in the final order include a transition to cluster studies, replacement of the “reasonable efforts standard” with study deadlines and penalties for transmission providers, and provisions to better accommodate new technologies such as storage and hybrid resources and to ensure consideration of grid-enhancing technologies.  

“Advanced Energy United and our members applaud the Commission for identifying the urgent need for interconnection reform and for working diligently to put forward a final Order that will start to improve the broken interconnection process,” said Caitlin Marquis, Managing Director at Advanced Energy United. “In light of the scope of the interconnection challenge, we also appreciate Acting Chair Phillips’s recognition that there is ‘so much more to do,’ and hope to see this momentum maintained with follow-up efforts by the Commission to address additional interconnection reform needs." 

Richmond Times-Dispatch published a letter to the editor submitted by Kim Jemaine in which she highlights Virginia's Dominion Energy's most recent Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and advocates for more implementation of clean energy technologies rather than their suggested use of more nuclear reactors.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reports on NV Energy's plans to shut down Nevada's last coal plant by 2025, quoting Sarah Steinberg criticism of the utility's proposal to replace the plant's energy source with natural gas.

NV Energy is committing to shutting down its last coal plant by 2025, the utility announced Wednesday, and will spend nearly $2 billion to do it.

The news comes after questions were raised early this year on whether the state’s largest public utility was going to be able to shut down its coal operations on schedule.

Stakeholders in Michigan worked with DTE Electric to accelerate retirement of coal-fired power plants to align with the Michigan Healthy Climate Plan's emissions reduction goals.

DETROIT, MI – Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council (Michigan EIBC), Institute for Energy Innovation (IEI), Advanced Energy United, and Clean Grid Alliance, in addition to other parties, reached a settlement with DTE Electric (DTE) regarding its Integrated Resource Plan last week, leading to significant gains toward reducing emissions, expanding opportunities for advanced energy businesses and technologies, and fulfilling the goals of the Michigan Healthy Climate Plan. The settlement terms accelerate the retirement of the coal-fired Monroe Power Plant, as well as require DTE to pursue federal funding to offset and retire even more coal facilities. After the plan is approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission, the utility will be making major investments in new large-scale renewable energy projects within the next 20 years and developing battery storage capacity.