Advanced Energy Perspectives

Labor Day 2022 is like none other for the advanced energy industry. It arrives after two years of COVID-related retrenchment and recovery and nearly a year of policy upheaval at the federal level, with threats of solar trade restrictions and climate and clean energy legislation seemingly stalled. Then, last month, came the Inflation Reduction Act which, when combined with the smaller but, in retrospect, complementary Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act a year earlier, provides $444 billion for investment in advanced energy. That direct investment of federal dollars will, we estimate, attract $1.2 trillion in private investment, for a total boost of $2.8 trillion for the U.S. economy. And that means one more big thing: jobs.

On July 25, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) Board of Directors approved an ambitious long-term plan to expand transmission infrastructure in the MISO North and Central regions (now called MISO Midwest) to serve growing demands for renewable energy and improve system reliability. The Long-Term Regional Transmission Plan (LRTP) is the second such major long-term regional transmission plan approved by MISO in the past 12 years, building on the Multi-Value Projects (MVP) transmission plan approved by MISO in 2011. MISO’s long-range planning efforts in MISO Midwest can serve as a national model for how to conduct long-range transmission planning to meet the needs of a changing generation resource mix. Meanwhile, the fact that the MISO South region will not see a similar plan until 2024 at the earliest demonstrates the challenges that must be overcome to ensure such effective planning happens everywhere – and leads to development of the transmission needed for a clean energy future.

On Tuesday, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most significant legislation ever enacted to advance clean energy, electrify transportation, and combat climate change. That much has been well established. What’s been underappreciated is just how transformational the IRA could be. Akin to the industrial policies of earlier eras, it has the potential to reshape the U.S. economy. Employing tax incentives, grants, loans, and innovative financial tools, the IRA, when combined with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed last year, will leverage billions in public capital to catalyze trillions in private investment and total economic impact. In so doing, it is poised to rapidly expand domestic markets for advanced energy and transportation technologies, revitalize American manufacturing, and reshape how we produce and use electricity. In other words, as industrial policy for an advanced energy economy, the whole of IRA is greater than the sum of its parts.

On Friday, August 5, Virginia’s State Corporation Commission (SCC) provided its stamp of approval for construction of the Costal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project – a 2.6 GW wind farm located 27 miles off Virginia Beach. For Virginia, the project is cause for excitement, for its jobs and cost savings benefits, as well as its key role in the Commonwealth’s clean energy future. But as it will also be the first offshore wind farm built and owned by a regulated utility, and carrying a big price tag, it calls for particular scrutiny. And in SCC’s review and final order, that’s what it got.

When Californians send their kids to school, we want them to be safe and cared for, but the bright yellow buses we rely on every day are surprise offenders when it comes to the air students breathe. Even though students only spend a few hours each week on school buses, kids’ lungs are particularly susceptible to the asthma-causing particle pollutants that get trapped inside these vehicles, making those rides more harmful than they might appear. Fortunately, a safe alternative is available with electric school buses.