News

Utility Dive summarized Colorado’s decision to require transmission utilities to join a regional wholesale power market by 2030, citing comments from AEE’s Emilie Olson. Read snippets below and the full article here.

A bipartisan bill requiring all Colorado transmission utilities to join an organized wholesale market by 2030 cleared the Colorado legislature last Thursday, drawing praise from both advocates and utilities.

E&E News summarized a letter from former FERC members urging the organization to develop RTOs nationwide, citing a supportive tweet from AEE’s Jeff Dennis. Read snippets below and the full article here.   

Nine former members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are urging it to help spur the development of organized power markets, which they say are needed nationwide to support clean energy.

The Christian Science Monitor summarizes the shift of the dominant climate narrative from climate change debate to economic progress with a focus on Illinois, citing an AEE report. Read snippets and the full article here.

For years, the dominant narrative of climate action was one of trade-offs and costs – that saving the world as we know it meant taking hard steps to reduce carbon emissions, and likely sacrificing jobs and lifestyle in the process.

Colorado House passed bipartisan Senate Bill 72, calling for a multi-state regionally interconnected electricity market to improve grid resilience, reliability, and reduce customers’ energy costs.

DENVER, June 3, 2021 — Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) applauded passage of Senate Bill 72* (SB 21-072) by the Colorado House on a strong bipartisan 49-15 vote. SB 72 enables critical investments in the electricity infrastructure needed to reliably transport clean energy across the state and region, and requires state utilities to join a regional transmission organization (RTO) by 2030. Having passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 28-6 in April, SB 72 heads to the Governor’s desk. 

Prasanna Venkatesan, EVP and Head of Americas, Landis+Gyr, will chair national business group; three new AEE board members named; immediate past chair and co-founder Hemant Taneja remains a board member of affiliated Advanced Energy Economy Institute.

Canary Media summarized the possibility for RTO expansion in the West, citing AEE’s Sarah Steinberg and Amisha Rai. Read snippets below and the full article here.

The Western U.S. is a hotbed for renewable power development. What it lacks are the regional regulatory and economic structures to build the transmission lines needed to move that clean power to far-off population centers and share it across a region facing increasing grid-reliability challenges driven by climate change.

Utility Dive summarized support and criticism for a letter encouraging FERC to expand use of RTOs nationwide, citing a critical tweet by AEE’s Jeff Dennis. Read snippets below and the full article here.

A bipartisan group of former federal regulators are calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expand organized wholesale power markets across the U.S., urging the commission to flex their full authority under the Federal Power Act.

Economic analysis finds $10 billion in targeted stimulus investment would have a seven-fold impact, increasing West Virginia’s gross state product, adding over 433,000 new jobs.

CHARLESTON, June 3 2021 – Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) released an economic assessment that found $10 billion in public investments across a range of advanced energy technologies would increase West Virginia's gross state product (GSP) by $70 billion. This level of targeted stimulus would attract $23 billion in complementary private investment, save customers $4.1 billion annually, and add 433,000 jobs, measured in job-years, for West Virginians.

House votes 41-24 to pass Senate Bill 260, providing sustainable funding streams for the state’s vehicle electrification programs and transportation infrastructure.

DENVER, June 2, 2021 — Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) applauded the Colorado legislature for passing comprehensive transportation funding legislation, Senate Bill 21-260*. Approved by the House 41-24, SB 260 will invest over $730 million to accelerate Colorado’s zero-emission vehicle market over the next decade. Having passed concurrence in the Senate, the bill now heads to Governor Polis for his expected signature. 

Utility Dive summarized Nevada’s clean energy omnibus bill SB 448, citing AEE’s coalition letter supporting the bill’s RTO language. Read snippets below and the full article here.

SB 448, introduced by state Sen. Chris Brooks, a Democrat from Las Vegas, advances Nevada's goal to reach 100% carbon-free resources by 2050, set in a 2019 bill that also raised the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard to 50% by 2030. The new bill goes further, requiring utilities to forecast a path to achieve an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels by the end of the decade.