News

The Department found imports of certain solar panel components circumvented existing U.S. tariffs on China.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2022 – Today, national business association Advanced Energy Economy reacted to the Department of Commerce’s preliminary determination that Chinese solar companies were circumventing U.S. trade restrictions. The investigation found that a number of Chinese solar companies were dodging existing tariffs by routing products through Southeast Asian nations. President Biden previously extended a 24-month pause on new solar tariffs, which is expected to forestall the immediate impacts of this determination on the solar industry. 

Detroit News published Michael Weiss and Laura Sherman's opinion piece on how Gov. Whitmer has a once-in-a-generation chance to revolutionize the state’s energy and automobile sector. Read snippets below and the full article here.

With the reelection of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan has a once-in-a-generation chance to revolutionize the state’s energy and automobile sector. Whitmer should use her second term to maximize federal funding and incentives from the Inflation Reduction Acts and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reduce energy costs for Michigan residents and fulfill the goals of the MI Healthy Climate Plan.

Bloomberg detailed how the midterm election results could push climate issues to the states, quoting J.R. Tolbert on the role utilities and state regulators play in the energy transition. Read snippets below and the full article here.

In former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden, the US had a climate-change denier followed immediately by the greenest White House yet. Many states responded to the Washington whiplash with moves of their own. Under Trump, more than a dozen adopted ambitious decarbonization targets, while, under Biden, others have put anti-green laws on the books.

WASHINGTON, DC, October 19, 2022 – Today, the Department of Energy announced it is awarding $2.8 billion to 20 companies using investments made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The projects will go towards building and expanding commercial-scale facilities in 12 states to extract and process lithium, graphite, and other battery materials, manufacture components, and demonstrate manufacturing components from recycled materials. 

Advanced energy industry jobs growing nearly twice as fast as the national average so far this year 

WASHINGTON, DC, October 13, 2022 – National business association Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) published an analysis of job opportunities in the advanced energy industry – which includes renewables, electrified transportation, and energy-saving technology solutions – and found that advertised positions grew nearly twice as fast as the national average (up 46% versus 27%) during the first eight months of 2022.

The study, produced in partnership with The Burning Glass Institute, a nonprofit labor market analytics center, also identified a wide range of high-growth occupations in the advanced energy industry for people with varying educational and training backgrounds, including a large percentage not requiring a bachelor’s degree. 

South Bend Tribune ran Caryl Auslander's opinion piece on how Indiana can solidify itself as a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles. Read snippets below and the full article here.

America is changing the way it drives, and Indiana is sitting in the driver’s seat. Our state will soon be home to thousands of new, good-paying jobs and record investment in electric vehicle and component production facilities at a moment when EVs are poised to take off.

Concord Monitor detailed how towns and schools can make the most of benefits in the Inflation Reduction Act, quoting AEE's Tom Lewis on clean energy tax credits that can help. Read snippets below and the full article here. 

Towns, schools and non-profits should find it even easier to cut their power bill by putting up solar panels or installing batteries, thanks to a dry-sounding provision deep within the complexity of the huge Inflation Reduction Act.

The advanced energy industry employed 3.4 million workers at the end of 2021, and workforce growth outpaced overall U.S. job growth

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 6, 2022 – Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy released its annual U.S. advanced energy employment fact sheet highlighting job trends across the industry. Outpacing overall U.S. job growth, the advanced energy workforce took a strong upturn in 2021, employing 3.4 million workers at the end of 2021 and bouncing back from COVID-19 disruptions.