Advanced Energy Perspectives

In just two short months, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the American economy. The unemployment rate has reached levels that the country has not seen since the Great Depression nearly 100 years ago. Congress and the Trump Administration have responded by providing trillions of dollars of immediate relief to businesses and households to avoid even worse impacts. But no action has been taken on a simple measure that could help save hundreds of thousands of advanced energy jobs that otherwise may never return. The time to act is now, because time is running out.

There are a couple of major issues currently before FERC and Congress that will impact advanced energy resources in wholesale markets. One of them is a decision expected from FERC soon after it regains a quorum of voting members that threatens to force operators of renewable energy facilities to artificially jack up their prices in a way that leaves them uncompetitive. The other, on which FERC has launched a proceeding but is also within congressional purview, involves building the transmission that is needed to get low-cost renewable energy to consumers. Here, and in two new wholesale market briefs, we explore the implications of these two issues for advanced energy resources, especially large-scale renewable energy development.

AEE's Jeff Dennis testifying before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy

Since Democrats won a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, the topic of deep decarbonization in the power sector has attracted more attention in our nation’s capital. While this topic has received the most attention through Members of Congress, most notably Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, calling for a Green New Deal, many other policymakers across the political spectrum have put forward ideas on moving towards a decarbonized power sector. Most recently, Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce set a goal in July 2019 to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and have begun a series of hearings to gather feedback from stakeholders. In October, at a hearing entitled “Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Solutions for the U.S. Power Sector,” AEE was invited to testify on the role the advanced energy industry has played to date.

Today, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL-1) released a “Green Real Deal” resolution in response to the Democratic proposal authored by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14). The introduction of each proposal marks a significant shift in the focus on advanced energy at the federal level. Over the previous 24 months, the advanced energy industry spent much time and energy – often with a coalition of unusual allies – beating back proposals that would have provided out-of-market payments to uneconomic power plants to the tune of $34 billion. Fast forward to today, and both parties are putting forward visions on federal energy policy with advanced energy at the center. Neither is going to become law any time soon. Rather, they represent starting points in a discussion that will take place over the coming years. Here’s what each of these starting points contain for advanced energy. 

Energy policy has taken center stage in the new Congress. And not only there: Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial showed millions of Americans that the answer to our energy future is blowing in the wind. As if on cue, both the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committees will hold hearings this week to hear from experts in the energy industry, environmental advocacy, and think tanks on climate change, clean energy, and innovation in the energy sector. On top of that, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are expected to release the first draft outlining specifics of the proposed Green New Deal, which has gained national attention, though the path forward for it remains unclear.

While climate change is getting new attention, there is little appetite on the Hill for moving a large legislative proposal. Instead, we expect Congress to prioritize energy infrastructure legislation over the next two years, while coming up with longer term strategies on climate for the future. With that in mind, AEE submitted its list of policy priorities to the 116th Congress, recommending four areas where the legislative branch can take action over the next two years to support advanced energy growth.