Advanced Energy Perspectives

This post originally appeared on the NECEC blog. 

Energy Policy, Politics and the 2016 Election was the topic of an exciting panel at the annual conference of NECEC’s national partner Advanced Energy Economy this week. The panel, moderated by AEE VP of Communications Bob Keough, featured a conversation with national energy media veterans Amy Harder of the Wall Street Journal, Rod Kuckro of EnergyWire News, Matt Daily of Politico and Mark Drajem of Bloomberg News, who discussed the prospects of the Bipartisan Energy Legislation in Congress, the impact of the recent stay issued by the Supreme Court on the Clean Power Plan, energy issues in the 2016 presidential race and more. 

Here at AEE, we are riding high following Energy Forward, our annual meeting of corporate members and state and regional partners. We had the advanced energy business braintrust in the room, but advanced energy never stops – not even for our conference! Here’s a selection of recent news from our ever-active member companies.

Three weeks ago, in a move that surprised even veteran court watchers, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a stay of EPA’s Clean Power Plan.

As the litigation on the merits unfolds in the coming months, it’s important to consider what the stay does and doesn’t do. The stay does prevent EPA from enforcing the CPP. So, for example, states won’t need to submit their initial compliance plans to EPA by September. But let’s be clear – the stay does not require states to halt their planning for compliance nor does it require that EPA stop helping states do that planning. The stay does not mean that the CPP will ultimately be struck down in the courts, and it most certainly does not eliminate EPA’s obligation to regulate greenhouse gases as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in 2007.

For those of us who track the advanced energy industry, it’s no surprise that energy storage has been a hot topic of late. Storage has been a huge growth industry, with analysts and advocates alike excited about the prospect of a responsive grid made of “nodes and connections.” Plus, it’s growing by leaps and bounds—we’ll share just how much it’s growing next week, with the release of our Advanced Energy Now 2016 Market Report. For now, here’s the latest: battery storage using a substance just one atom thick.