Advanced Energy Perspectives

On March 6, Ohio Advanced Energy Economy (Ohio AEE) hosted an engaging roundtable chat with Ohio gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray, the former Ohio Attorney General who most recently served as director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As one participant put it, in this case, the picture does not do justice to the level of interest and engagement by Cordray as he sought to learn more about advanced energy technologies and companies and their impact on the state. He asked a lot of questions and conveyed genuine commitment to and support for expanding clean energy because it’s the right thing to do, it represents the future for Ohioans and we need to embrace it. 

The roundtable was the first in a series of meetings with the leading candidates for governor being organized by Ohio AEE. Through these roundtables, we hope to learn more about each candidate's vision for the state, and we hope they will learn more about the advanced energy industry that’s growing in Ohio.

Hollywood has the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and more, but the advanced energy industry has its own stars to celebrate, too! With awards season in full swing, last week, we recognized Representative Ryan Costello (R — PA, 6th District) with AEE’s Advanced Energy Leadership Award during Energy Forward: Driving Advanced Energy Growth, our annual gathering of AEE members and state and regional partners, Feb. 27-28. A theme that emerged throughout the two days was the need to more effectively share our stories. Just as the film industry looks to tell stories that make characters relatable, we need to tell stories that connect our industry — and the individuals within it — to the broader economy. We need to boost our ratings by making advanced energy hyper-local, highly relatable and personal.

This is a guest post from AEE member company Simple Energy

The landscape of demand-side management programs is rapidly shifting because of unparalleled changes in the way products are used and sold. Customers demand convenience and the ability to purchase or enroll in a matter of seconds and in the channel they prefer. Utility legacy practices are often disconnected from these new consumer needs. Modern customers want instant gratification, not a mail-in rebate form and a weeks-long wait to receive a response. When online portals bounce them to third-party websites to complete a purchase, they often give up altogether. How can utilities give customers the money-saving offers they want, when they want them, and in the channel they prefer?

This is a guest post from AEE’s state partner, the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council. To learn more about Michigan EIBC, click here. To learn more about AEE’s nationwide coalition of state and regional partners, click here. 

With the pace of technological innovation accelerating, mobility is changing rapidly. Transportation is becoming more connected, more autonomous, and more shared, particularly in urban environments. Electrification is the enabler of this transformation, facilitating this combination of automation, advanced computing, and sharing in the way we get around. That makes electric vehicles (EVs) more than an alternative to gasoline-propelled cars. It makes them the platform for the next phase of human mobility.

Last Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a long-awaited final order on its storage and distributed energy resource (DER) docket. This is a big step toward opening up the wholesale electricity markets under FERC jurisdiction to advanced energy technologies that have not been allowed to compete. Energy storage gets an immediate boost, as regional grid operators will now have to implement market rules to let energy storage participate. Aggregated DERs, which FERC considered in this proceeding at the urging of AEE, will be on a slower path, starting with a technical conference, but are also headed toward market participation. AEE and our member companies will stay engaged until these markets are truly open to all advanced energy technologies.