Advanced Energy Perspectives

Image of courtesy of NASA. 

Every week we see more stories of the progress of advanced energy, and this week is certainly no exception. From the biggest purchase of advanced energy ever by the federal government to the first American offshore wind farm, advanced energy is marching on. Some of this week’s advanced energy headline writers seem to know Halloween is coming, but here’s the thing: It will take a little more than zombie power generation, energy storage bloodbath, or eldritch wind projects from the watery deep to scare us.

It’s no secret that energy storage is on the rise. This week, though, we saw several stories on innovative thermal storage solutions, everything from hot rocks to cool ice. Plus, member updates from SunPower (solar + storage!), Bloom Energy (whose secret IPO is not-so-secret anymore), and General Electric, which, at 124 years old, is looking pretty spry when it comes to advanced energy investment.

Advanced energy is big business, representing $200 billion in revenues in the U.S. alone—on par with the pharmaceutical industry – and growing. This week the news is all about the green, and we don’t mean eco-friendly. We’re talking greenbacks. We have stories of financing models for energy storage and big-bucks deals for AEE member companies. Plus, the energy challenges of growing a different kind of green—marijuana.

This week, EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) went to court. A full panel of the 10 active judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard legal arguments from a coalition of 27 states, led by West Virginia, claiming that EPA has overstepped its legal authority, and from the Department of Justice, defending EPA’s rule. The hearing was the hottest ticket in town, complete with paid line standers, with excess onlookers steered into an overflow room, but we at AEE, as an intervenor in the case in support of EPA, had a front row seat. So… what does it all mean? Advanced Energy Perspectives is here to help you sort out the legal news and find out what matters.

Apple's new 50 MW solar farm, built in partnership with AEE member First Solar, will supply Apple’s data center in Arizona.

They say, “if you build it they will come,” but in the case of advanced energy, they might just build it themselves. Major companies are making major investments in renewable energy development: Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, and Apple are upping their commitments. Plus, energy storage (and particularly solar + storage) continues to change the game. That’s what in the news this week.