Advanced Energy Perspectives

Earlier this year, we published the Advanced Energy Now 2015 Market Report. That report showed that the U.S. market for advanced energy products and services grew 14 percent in 2014, five times as fast as the U.S. economy overall. At just under $200 billion in revenue, advanced energy is now bigger than the U.S. airline industry, equal to the pharmaceutical industry, and nearly as large as consumer electronics. That is big news. Just as important is what’s driving the growth of the advanced energy market in this country.

Looking across the market and policy landscape, I see five drivers of market growth for advanced energy companies, now and into the future.

1. Reducing Carbon Emissions. EPA’s Clean Power Plan won’t be final until later this summer, but the draft rule is already shaping markets for energy investment. For reducing carbon emissions from the electric power sector, advanced energy is the answer. Energy efficiency and demand response. Low-emission natural gas generation. Zero-emission renewable energy. Advanced grid technologies and energy storage. As described in our Advanced Energy Technologies for Greenhouse Gas Reduction report, these are the measures states can use to meet EPA standards and modernize their electric power systems for the 21^st century. AEE member companies are ready to deliver their solutions on a large scale. That means revenue growth for the industry and economic growth for the states that put advanced energy to work.

This post is one in a series of feature stories on trends shaping advanced energy markets in the U.S. and around the world, drawn from Advanced Energy Now 2015 Market Report, which was prepared for AEE by Navigant Research. 

Monsanto's "Home of the Future," circa 1958. Not exactly a zero net energy building. Source. 

Globally, building energy has moved into the spotlight due to the associated greenhouse gas impacts and rising energy costs. Until recently, zero net energy buildings (ZNEBs) have existed mostly on a conceptual level, with a small number of highly innovative pilots exploring the process of planning and execution of this technology. However, ZNEBs made significant headway in late 2014 after the federal General Services Administration (GSA) approved a recommendation from an internal task force to upgrade at least 50% of the federal government’s building area to ZNEB — not a small number, considering that the GSA is the owner of more than 2% of all commercial buildings within the United States.

Advanced energy companies, as well as companies that are not focused primarily on energy, are forging partnerships that will fundamentally change the way we are powered. This week we saw important updates from several of our AEE members, as well as some continuing coverage of Hawaii’s race toward total renewable energy and Apple, which seeks to change the game… again.

After a long lull, the nation’s capital has engaged with energy issues in a big way over the past few weeks. In April, the Department of Energy released its first installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) on transmission, storage, and distribution. The report identifies challenges associated with our aging infrastructure – everything from severe weather events to cyber terrorist attacks. But it also notes investment opportunities in renewable energy and distributed energy technologies. Energy Secretary Moniz took the show on the road, discussing the importance of both public and private investment in energy from the halls of Congress to The Daily Show. What happens next, who knows?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) plan to regulate carbon emissions is just the latest challenge facing the U.S. electric power system. Technological innovation is disrupting old ways of doing business and accelerating grid modernization. Last year, AEE released Advanced Energy Technologies for Greenhouse Gas Reduction, a report detailing the use, application, and benefits of 40 specific advanced energy technologies and services. This post is one in a series drawn from the technology profiles within that report.

VVO controls the flow of power in the distribution system to increase efficiency and reliability, reduce distribution losses, and accommodate new power flows, such as those originating from distributed generation. VVO provides more precise voltage control, reducing the amount of power required. Historically, utilities have had to use estimates to ensure that end-use customers would have the proper level of voltage after distribution losses. Such an approach requires higher than optimal voltage levels to keep voltage from dropping below minimum thresholds by the time it reaches customers. By using dynamic control, VVO allows distribution lines to have lower overall voltage without impacting service quality.