Advanced Energy Perspectives

Earlier this week, Advanced Energy United (United) co-hosted and organized an Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) candidate forum, bringing together interested member companies from the United West Working Group to engage in thoughtful conversations and dialogue with ACC candidates.

One of the biggest challenges facing our nation’s economic growth – and one of the largest threats to consumer energy costs and the reliability of our electricity system – is the ability to quickly connect new, large-scale energy resources to the transmission grid.

There’s now roughly 2,600 GW worth of energy sources stuck waiting in line to connect to the power grid (more than double the capacity of the current electricity system), held back by an antiquated way of studying and approving transmission grid upgrades. This process, known as ‘generator interconnection,’ was designed for an increasingly bygone era. In an era of more dynamic, more cost-effective, more distributed advanced energy resources, grid operators and electric utilities need a new approach for bringing new energy resources online. 

On August 29, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (the Department) issued a pivotal order that could shape the state’s future energy landscape. This ruling marks a significant, though incremental, step toward modernizing the Commonwealth’s distribution grid, offering a preliminary roadmap to guide Massachusetts on its journey toward a more advanced energy infrastructure.

Over the course of 2024, Advanced Energy United has been tracking and often engaging on, clean building policy developments across the country. As market and technology trends evolve at breakneck pace, it’s up to states to either harness the momentum to deliver for consumers, or to let outdated policies stymie economic growth and spiral energy costs out of control.

In this blog, we’ve rounded up several emerging trends related to building electrification worth watching in legislatures, at Public Utility Commissions, and among executive offices as they confront these issues in real time.

On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest-ever investment in clean energy and climate action. Two years later, the landmark legislation has proven to be the pivotal catalyst it was intended to be, unleashing historic investments in advanced energy solutions, revitalizing domestic manufacturing, stimulating economic growth, creating jobs, and lowering energy costs for households and businesses across the country. In celebration, we’re marking this anniversary with a look at five indicators that the IRA is already transforming the U.S. economy, with much more on the horizon.