Advanced Energy United Reports

Questions have been raised about whether renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) resources can provide substantial emission reductions at reasonable cost under EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP).

These concerns reflect fundamental misperceptions about the performance and cost of today’s renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, rooted in outdated information and perpetuated by inaccurate official market projections. 

Earlier this year, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) issued an “initial reliability review” in which it identified elements of EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan that could lead to reliability concerns. One of the issues identified by NERC was the challenge of integrating variable renewable resources, such as wind and solar, into the power system at the levels contemplated by the CPP.

Advanced energy is a booming industry in Florida, bringing in revenues of $6.2 billion in 2014 – more than international agricultural exports from the Sunshine State ($4.2 billion).

AEE commissioned Navigant Research to prepare this first-ever analysis of the advanced energy industry in Florida, which includes market size, key trends, and profiles of companies already working in the state.

This summer, the Environmental Protection Agency will release a draft Federal Plan to implement the Clean Power Plan in states that do not submit a satisfactory state plan. Some groups have argued that inclusion of advanced energy—even renewable energy and energy efficiency, which are both part of EPA’s calculation of state goals—is beyond EPA’s authority in a Federal Plan.

On April 21, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) released its “Phase I” assessment of the reliability impacts of EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP). The Phase I report is a follow-up to NERC’s Initial Reliability Review, and NERC indicates there will be more to come. This is in keeping with NERC’s vital role in informing policymakers and grid operators about issues in maintaining reliable electric service across the country.

This white paper provides a critique of the Phase I reliability assessment and suggests ways future assessments can be improved. 

This report, prepared by Meister Consultants Group for the Advanced Energy Economy Institute and the Virginia Advanced Energy Industries Coalition, analyzes two possible scenarios for Virginia’s compliance with the U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions from the electric power sector.

Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEEI), the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACENY), and the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC) have been filing joint comments with the New York Department of Public Service (DPS) in the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Proceeding.

Advanced energy is a nearly $1.3 trillion global industry, as big as apparel and almost four times the size of semiconductor manufacturing worldwide.

U.S. advanced energy market is $200 billion, up 14% vs. 2013, 5x the growth rate of the U.S. economy overall.

In November 2014, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued an “initial reliability review” in which it identified elements of the CPP that could lead to reliability concerns. Echoed by some grid operators and cited in comments to EPA submitted by states, utilities, and industry groups, the NERC study has made reliability a critical issue in finalizing, and then implementing, the Clean Power Plan.  

Energy efficiency refers to all the ways we can reduce the amount of energy we use to meet our needs. Typically less than half the cost of additional power generation, energy efficiency is the most affordable way to meet energy needs and it creates local jobs installing energy saving products and materials. States have adopted policies that promote energy efficiency to help businesses and consumers save money, stimulate the economy, and avoid the need for more power plants.