Advanced Energy Perspectives

After a flurry of positive activity during the 2013 legislative session, 2014 has been more of a mixed bag to date. There have been some notable advances during this session around the country and a few very disturbing setbacks that threaten the progress of advanced energy in the heartland.

Ohio put energy efficiency and renewable energy standards in place in 2008. The standards have been a great success – saving money, creating jobs, diversifying resources.

But no good deed goes unpunished. Some of the utilities have been slow in implementing energy efficiency programs and decided to exercise their influence in the Ohio General Assembly rather than implement efficiency measures that would save money for their customers.

There’s a saying in the West: “The whiskey’s for drinking and the water’s for fighting.” As evidence has mounted that existing interstate compacts for water transfers from upstream states to downstream states were struck during historically wet years, concern has grown over water shortages due to changing climate conditions. As a result, states in the Southwest, especially, have begun to examine the nexus between water consumption and energy.

Water and energy interact in both consumption and generation. An enormous amount of energy is used for drinking water and wastewater treatment. And an enormous amount of water is used in most forms of electricity generation – but not all.

The California Energy Commission conducted a study that determined 20% of electricity consumption in California is related to pumping, treating and transporting water.  Therefore, the commission determined, it was appropriate for energy conservation money to be used for water demand reduction – less water used, less energy consumed. As utilities look for new ways to reach energy efficiency performance objectives, making water infrastructure more efficient is one promising pathway.

In Kansas, there was a replay of 2013 last week as an ALEC-sponsored bill to roll back the state’s renewable portfolio standard went down to defeat in the state legislature. RPS repeal bills around the country had a very poor showing last year – not a single one passed – as opponents of renewable energy had to confront the real jobs and economic impact the policies were having.

In 2013, AEE partnered with Colorado State University’s Center for the New Energy Economy, headed by former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, to develop an online state legislation tool called AEL Tracker. One benefit of looking at state policy across the country is the ability to identify trends, and the Center has just released its latest overview of state policy trends in the legislative session now under way.