Advanced Energy Perspectives

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.

There are two types of currents that can be used when transmitting electricity: Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC). The electric grid developed around AC power because it was easier to manipulate and transport efficiently given technological limitations with DC transformers that persisted until the 1980s. Technological advancements have now made high-voltage DC (HVDC) lines a viable option for efficiently transporting power over long distances.

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. 

Photo courtesy of AEE member Genze.

A generational shift in the United States is underway when it comes to car culture. While there are a number of contributing social and economic factors, over the last decade, the number of miles driven by the average American has been falling. At the same time, advanced mobility options, drive trains, and fuel sources have increased significantly. Growth in public transit options, car-sharing, and electric vehicles are all contributing to the transformation of personal mobility. Millennials in particular are seeking alternatives to car ownership while decreasing battery costs are making electric mobility products more affordable.

Prepared by Meister Consultants Group for the Advanced Energy Economy Institute and the Virginia Advanced Energy Industries Coalition, Assessing Virginia’s Energy Future: Employment Impacts of Clean Power Plan Compliance Scenarios analyzes two possible scenarios for Virginia’s compliance with the U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions from the electric power sector. 

The topline finding is quite simple: Virginia could create thousands of permanent and temporary construction jobs by implementing the CPP, and double the number of jobs if the Commonwealth chooses to pursue a goal it has considered for a long time – producing within the state all the electricity needed to power the Virginia economy, instead of importing nearly 40 percent from out of state. Achieving self-sufficiency in electricity generation while meeting EPA emissions standards would create 122,000 job-years of additional employment over the next 15 years, with net new jobs peaking at nearly 12,600 in 2029.

“Fossil Fuels Just Lost the Race Against Renewables,” reads the hyperbolic headline from Tom Randall, writing for Bloomberg Business. “This is the beginning of the end,” the subhead piles on. This report of the death of fossil fuel-powered electricity generation may be exaggerated. But looking closely at Randall’s article, the triumph of advanced energy seems even more of a sure thing.

Last week, Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEEI) and the Virginia Advanced Energy Industries Coalition (VAEIC) released a new report, “Assessing Virginia’s Energy Future,” which measures the employment outcomes of two potential Clean Power Plan (CPP) compliance strategies that the Commonwealth might consider. The topline finding is quite simple: Virginia could create thousands of permanent and temporary construction jobs by implementing the CPP, and double the number of jobs if the Commonwealth chooses to pursue a goal it has considered for a long time – producing within the state all the electricity needed to power the Virginia economy, instead of importing nearly 40 percent from out of state. It will be up to Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the General Assembly to choose which course to take.

VIRGINIA EMPLOYMENT IMPACTS BY YEAR; ENERGY IMPORT REDUCTION SCENARIO

Green area: New advanced energy job years; Red area: Job years lost

The two scenarios examined in the report are “Diversified Portfolio” and “Import Reduction” pathways. Both options are built on a baseline established by the state’s investor-owned utilities via the Integrated Resource Planning process. Even the plans submitted by the utilities have old, inefficient coal-fired power plants retiring, based on economic factors. These retirements will get Virginia much of the way to the emissions target set by the EPA in its proposed plan.