Advanced Energy Perspectives

Whether the United States has “turned the corner” on the COVID-19 public health crisis or is looking at a long, cold winter of social distancing, at some point the conversation in Washington, D.C., is going to have to move from providing short-term relief to jumpstarting economic growth. When that time comes, advanced energy deserves to be high on the list for federal stimulus dollars. Public support is high: A recent New York Times/Siena poll shows that more than 70% of voters would support a $2 trillion renewable energy and infrastructure plan for economic stimulus. What would an infusion of stimulus funds like that mean for states? AEE, along with Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), asked Analysis Group, an international economics consultancy, to run the numbers for eight states. The results show a high ROI for public dollars put to work in advanced energy.

California’s love affair with the automobile is a long and well documented tale stretching from the freeways of Los Angeles up to where the redwoods tower over both Route 101 and the Pacific Ocean. Over the years, the state has endeavored to make this relationship more sustainable in the truest sense of the word. California pioneered the push for new low emission vehicles (LEVs) in the early 1990s. Then came the push for zero emission vehicles (ZEVs). Following Gov. Newsom's September 23 Executive Order (E.O.), the Golden State has signaled that it is ready for the next step as it aims to become the first U.S. state to ensure that all vehicles on its roadways are zero emission.

On September 18, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 2222, a long-awaited order setting the stage for aggregations of distributed energy resources (DERs) to participate on a level playing field in the wholesale markets operated by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators (RTOs/ISOs). Adoption of these small, flexible, customer-sited resources has proliferated across the United States, primarily driven by customer demand, technology improvement, and falling prices. However, DERs have been largely left out of U.S. wholesale power markets. FERC’s order embraces these market trends and directs RTOs/ISOs to remove market barriers and allow aggregated DERs to compete. That opens the door for new revenue streams for DER owners, new business models for DER aggregators, and new flexibility for the grid. But realizing this potential will depend on how RTOs/ISOs implement the order.

Every four years, Americans turn their eyes to Florida as a crucial swing state in presidential elections. Here at AEE, we also pay attention to the election cycle in the Sunshine State, but this year our eyes are on the state legislature. Two years ago, AEE met with gubernatorial contenders from both parties – including the eventual winner, Gov. Ron DeSantis – to tell them about the opportunity of advanced energy for Florida. This year, AEE spent the heat of a Florida summer holding virtual meetings between member companies and candidates running for the state legislature to show how advanced energy can create jobs for the Florida economy, bring consumers more options – whether for solar power or electric vehicles – and lower the cost of energy for businesses and households.

On October 7, AEE and its many partners will celebrate Energy Efficiency Day (#EEDay2020) and we invite you to join us. The goal of Energy Efficiency Day is to bring home the benefits of energy efficiency for companies as well as households. Energy efficiency is a powerful tool that helps businesses and consumers save money, protect the environment by reducing pollution, and stimulate the economy by driving investment and employing over 2 million people. But energy efficiency is now more important than ever, given changes in work, school, and lifestyle driven by the COVID-19 health crisis.