Advanced Energy Perspectives

NREL says that wind could become the country’s “dominant” source of electricity with “near-future” technology. Slate, the online magazine, likens the present-day need for more long-distance transmission lines to the need for transcontinental railroads more than 150 years ago. And do you know which sector GTM Research has identified as the “most significant solar growth market in the U.S.,” growing 5X this year alone? Hint: it’s not utility-scale, and it’s not rooftop. These are some recent developments in renewable energy, and we’ve been taking notes.

The White House announcement last week, on the day of President Obama’s clean energy speech in Las Vegas, resolved two issues that have been dogging the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) market over the past several years. Namely, it clarified how PACE loans could be paired with federally guaranteed mortgages, as well as how those loans could be transferred to new owners, rather than paid off, at the time of the property’s sale.

Even considering the turmoil in the overall stock market this week, advanced energy is on a bit of a Wall Street rollercoaster. Specifically, wind is riding a wave, while solar shares are in the doldrums – even though both advanced energy technologies are on a roll.

On August 3, the U.S. EPA rolled out its final Clean Power Plan regulation for greenhouse gas emissions at existing power plants. Reaction in the states varied, with some new states deciding to sue EPA and others quietly noting they are well positioned to meet their targets. But the response under consideration in North Carolina stands out for being not only self-defeating in its resistance to the EPA rule, but also costly to ratepayers.

“We are at another inflection point in California policy,” said Howard Wenger of SunPower Corp., an AEE board member. With legislation pending across the street in the Capitol to raise California’s already high standards for renewable energy and building efficiency, and adding a target of cutting petroleum use in half, all by 2030, what better context could there be for AEE’s third annual “Pathway to 2050” conference? The capacity crowd of nearly 400 gathered in the Sacramento Convention Center got a full sense of that inflection point – and the stakes for industry growth – from key policy makers and business leaders in a full day of dialogue and networking on August 20.