News

Utility Dive covered FERC Chair Neil Chatterjee thoughts on how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted power generation sources and its impact moving forward, quoting AEE's Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire UD piece here. 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Neil Chatterjee is focused on how the current pandemic might impact current generation sources, and how the power sector will emerge from this crisis, he told Atlantic Council's Energy Advisory Group Chair David Goldwyn during a Zoom-based interview on Tuesday. A top concern is whether reliability will be threatened if some facilities close and can't reopen after the current crisis subsides and power demand rises.

Greentech Media published an opinion piece by AEE's CEO Nat Kreamer on ways to provide relief to advanced energy companies during the COVID-19 crisis. Read excerpts below and the entire GTM piece here. 

The public health crisis of COVID-19 has brought much of the U.S. economy to a halt. While the most visible impacts have been in hotels and restaurants, the advanced energy industry has been hit hard as well. Specific relief that’s needed now can sustain the industry through the crisis and ensure that it is ready to drive economic recovery when the crisis has passed. Best of all, this relief will cost U.S. taxpayers nothing today — and if done right, it will boost U.S. manufacturing tomorrow. What is this simple, no-cost solution? 

Greentech Media covered how the Utility industry, often thought to be immune to economic declines, is facing challenges due to the COVID-19 crisis, quoting AEE's Lisa Frantzis. Read excerpts below and the entire Greentech Media piece here. 

The coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy, and while electric utilities may be relatively sheltered from the storm that’s overtaking other economic sectors, they are not immune. In the past month, crashing oil prices have roiled international energy markets and pushed some U.S. oil and natural-gas producers to file for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, electricity demand has taken a dive as businesses and factories have closed down under state orders or economic duress, leading the U.S. Energy Information Administration to predict a 3 percent drop in electricity generation over the course of 2020...

MiBiz covered COVID-19's effect on Michigan's clean energy jobs and companies attempt noting AEE's policy recommendation. Read excerpts below and the entire MiBiz piece here. 

The coronavirus has wiped out recent statewide clean energy job gains as Michigan companies take a patchwork approach to continuing work during the pandemic. According to a study released by business and environmental groups this month, the U.S. lost 106,000 clean energy jobs since the outbreak started in March, including 5,446 in Michigan, or 4.1 percent of the state’s clean energy job sector. The report estimates national clean energy job losses could top 500,000, or 15 percent, as new unemployment data become available for the month of April. 

E&E News covered Maryland Public Service Commissioner Jason Stanek's comments on considering exiting Md. from PJM Interconnection's capacity market in response to FERC's MOPR order, quoting AEE's Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E News piece here (sub. req.).  

Maryland's top utility regulator said his state is considering exiting PJM Interconnection's capacity market — the nation's largest — in response to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order last year changing the grid operator's pricing mechanisms. "It's hard to say whether [exiting is] a net benefit," Jason Stanek, chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission, said Wednesday on a webinar hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures. "It is not an easy calculus to make, and we're in the midst of that right now..."

Virginia Mercury covered Va. utility regulator conditions for Dominion Energy's proposed renewable energy offering, quoting Virginia AEE's Harry Godfrey. Read excerpts below and the entire Virginia Mercury piece here. 

A utility regulator is recommending that the State Corporation Commission approve a proposal by Dominion Energy to offer a renewable energy package opposed by a host of environmental and business groups — but only if Dominion can sign up at least 15,000 customers in six months. The report released Tuesday is only a recommendation by Hearing Examiner Mary Beth Adams, but it provides an indication of how the commission, which has decision-making power, may approach the case’s key points.

A commentary in Energy News Network covered the impact of COVID-19 on veteran employment in the advanced energy industry referencing AEE's survey findings. Read excerpts below and the entire Energy News Network piece here. 

At the beginning of the year, wind and solar energy were poised to have record breaking growth in 2020 with an additional 32 GW of capacity from the declining levelized cost of electricity, sunsetting government tax incentives, and increased investments from private industry to combat climate change. This growth represents a nearly 20% increase in existing capacity, creating an increasing number of clean energy jobs. However, the global spread of the novel coronavirus is challenging these projections. The research and consultancy group Wood MacKenzie suggests that clean energy investment is likely to take a hit: “all discretionary spend will be under review — that includes additional budget allocated for carbon mitigation. And companies that haven’t yet engaged in carbon reduction strategies are likely to put the issue on the back burner...”

Oklahoma Energy Today reported on a New England group's filing on net metering with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that could impact renewable energy, quoting AEE's Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire Oklahoma Energy Today piece here. Utility Dive also covered the story, quoting Dennis.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is being asked to make a decision on “net metering” and it could possibly affect how Oklahoma utilities handle rates for solar and wind powered electricity. Under Oklahoma law, utilities are not allowed to impose extra charges for customers signed up for net metering up to 100kw in size or 25,000 khw/year, which ever is less. Nor can the utilities require new liability insurance as a condition for interconnection. But a recent filing has some legal experts suggesting that if okayed by FERC, it will “end net metering as we know it,” according to a report by Utility Dive.

Microgrid Knowledge reported on policy proposals for economic stimulation for microgrid growth after COVID-19, including AEE's perspective. Read excerpts below and the entire Microgrid Knowledge piece here.

Clean energy advocates are floating a range of ideas to stimulate post COVID-19 microgrid growth — from tax credits to relief funds to support for electrification of rural hospitals. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) and Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) are among the organizations calling for the measures. Their proposals come at a time when more than 100,000 US advanced energy workers are out of work,  a loss that wiped out last year’s growth in the industry, according to AEE. 

E&E News reported coronavirus federal aid has not reached advanced energy companies and workers, noting recommendation to shift tax credits to direct pay, featuring AEE's COVID-19 Fact Sheet. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E News piece here (sub. req.). 

More than 80% of clean energy companies say they are delaying or stopping projects because of the novel coronavirus, and a majority are calling for a replacement of federal tax credits, according to a new report. Advanced Energy Economy, whose members range from Microsoft Corp. to Apex Clean Energy Inc., said 40% of companies in a survey released yesterday reported a 26% to 50% drop in sales compared with earlier projections. More than 60% of surveyed companies said that federal aid packages have not helped their businesses, and more than 90% said Federal Reserve loans have been of little assistance.