RTO Insider interviewed Advanced Energy United's President Heather O'Neill about the organization's rebranding and its plans for market-changing advocacy as it moves into its second decade. Read snippets below and the full article here.
Advanced Energy Economy has started 2023 with a new name, Advanced Energy United, reflecting both the progress the group has made since its founding and the challenges ahead.
The group’s original name reflected its goal of creating an economy powered by advanced energy. Now, although there is broad consensus around its objective, the group says, the challenge is harmonizing the technologies needed to achieve it and breaking down the barriers in the way.
“It’s a recognition of the moment in time,” President Heather O’Neill said in an interview with NetZero Insider. With $369 billion — or more — in clean energy tax credits, incentives and new programs available under the Inflation Reduction Act, the group’s goal is “having the industry come together to accelerate the energy transition and take advantage of the massive opportunities in front of us,” she said.
NetZero Insider: In your announcement of the new name, you talk about Advanced Energy being a “unifying voice” for the industry. How un-unified is the clean energy sector? Why does it need a unifying voice?
O’Neill: Traditionally our industry has been siloed by technology, and there’s increasing recognition that working together, there are tremendous benefits. It’s going to take all our technology solutions ― grid-scale, distributed energy resources of all types ― if we’re accelerating this transition to 100% clean energy in the U.S. It’s a recognition, I think, of the opportunities presented at this moment … [for] really bringing all of our technologies together and presenting systemwide solutions to policymakers.
We’re able to unlock solutions that are market-transforming, market-wide transformations, because we’re not looking at problems or identifying solutions from one narrow technology, but really looking across the energy system and looking for wins that will scale clean energy writ large.
Read more of the interview here.