Advanced Energy Perspectives

Two weeks ago, we reported that “solar-plus-storage” was the hottest new thing in advanced energy. This week, the New York Times agreed, posting a science feature on the growing (and growth!) partnership between batteries and renewable energy.

Prepared by Meister Consultants Group for the Advanced Energy Economy Institute and the Virginia Advanced Energy Industries Coalition, Assessing Virginia’s Energy Future: Employment Impacts of Clean Power Plan Compliance Scenarios analyzes two possible scenarios for Virginia’s compliance with the U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions from the electric power sector. 

The topline finding is quite simple: Virginia could create thousands of permanent and temporary construction jobs by implementing the CPP, and double the number of jobs if the Commonwealth chooses to pursue a goal it has considered for a long time – producing within the state all the electricity needed to power the Virginia economy, instead of importing nearly 40 percent from out of state. Achieving self-sufficiency in electricity generation while meeting EPA emissions standards would create 122,000 job-years of additional employment over the next 15 years, with net new jobs peaking at nearly 12,600 in 2029.

“Fossil Fuels Just Lost the Race Against Renewables,” reads the hyperbolic headline from Tom Randall, writing for Bloomberg Business. “This is the beginning of the end,” the subhead piles on. This report of the death of fossil fuel-powered electricity generation may be exaggerated. But looking closely at Randall’s article, the triumph of advanced energy seems even more of a sure thing.

Featured image courtesy of Madalyn Knebel.

Advanced energy is an industry full of innovative technologies. This week it’s time for energy storage to shine—and we mean that literally. At the top of the news this week is energy storage systems paired with small-scale solar installations, creating mini-microgrids that can power homes, offices, even a network of communities – creating islands of energy self-sufficiency.

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” That’s a quote from Carl Sagan’s groundbreaking Cosmos. To build an electrical grid for an imaginary “51^st state” from scratch… well, the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) asked utilities and other stakeholders how they would go about it. Presumably they would also invent the universe first, but we’ll skip ahead a bit.