Advanced Energy Perspectives

The 2024 Maryland legislative session wrapped up on April 8th and marked another step forward for clean energy development in the state. Advanced Energy United played a key role in developing and supporting policies that reshaped how the state is approaching issues like transportation electrification, energy efficiency, and even geothermal energy.  

We’re currently seeing three critical energy trends across the state of California.  

First, energy affordability is an urgent crisis. California's success in reducing the cost of clean, renewable power means commodity energy prices during much of the day are lower than ever, but replacing our aging and fire-prone infrastructure has driven electric bills to unsustainable levels, especially for the state’s poorest and most vulnerable. 

Navigating the complexities of permitting for U.S. offshore wind projects requires strategic collaboration among diverse stakeholders. To avoid project delays, and to enable large-scale strategic approval processes to happen rapidly, a coordinated effort between the federal government, regulators, developers, and stakeholders is required.  

But, how can this be done? 

On April 2nd, I had the opportunity to moderate a webinar discussion hosted by Reuters exploring this very topic, specifically: how do we streamline decision-making and the permitting process to create a supportive ecosystem for offshore wind projects? I was joined by a group of all-star panelists each of whom is extremely knowledgeable and experienced in this space: Pilar Patterson of Ørsted (an Advanced Energy United member), Stephanie Wilson of Atlantic Shores, Jennifer Flood of Southcoast Wind, and Hollie Emery of the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management.

Our industry has a story to tell. It is a great story. It is the story of a growing, job-creating, economic engine of our society. It’s about an industry that is poised to leverage billions of dollars in federal and state funds into many billions more in private investment to transform our energy infrastructure and create the path to a cleaner, more reliable, more affordable energy future. It’s about the chance to bring people who have been ignored or excluded into the energy resource planning process to define and implement community benefit projects that are, in fact, beneficial.  

In May 2023, Xcel Energy Colorado filed its inaugural Gas Infrastructure Plan (GIP). Not only was this a first for Colorado, but in a national regulatory landscape light on gas utility oversight, it was also among the first of its kind nationwide. With the gas industry facing unprecedented headwinds – and in light of changing policy, technology, and market conditions – states are looking for new tools to understand and evaluate gas infrastructure investments. Colorado is at the forefront of that change, with state, city, and county emissions reduction policies and programs layered on top of generous state and federal rebates and incentives for clean appliances. In addition, gas commodity and infrastructure costs are rising, and innovation and scale are happening in the cold-climate heating solutions marketplace. All of these beg the question: how do we align long-lived, ratepayer-funded utility infrastructure investments with these long-term trends while still providing for our energy needs in the near term?