Advanced Energy Perspectives

The numbers are staggering: 33 million Americans have lost their jobs since the start of the COVID pandemic, including nearly 600,000 in the advanced energy industry. And by the end of June, that number could hit 850,000. That would be nearly a quarter of the 3.6 million advanced energy jobs that existed at the start of the year – a time when advanced energy was a $238 billion a year industry in the United States, with employment that was growing nearly twice as fast as U.S. employment overall. For those of us who work in the industry, we know the new reality all too well, as emails bounce back not with “out of office,” but rather “no longer works here” or “has been furloughed.” It’s heartbreaking. But there are things state policymakers – especially governors and public utility commissioners – can do to prevent advanced energy business from coming to a complete halt during the public health crisis, and keep the advanced energy industry in a position to aid the economic recovery that follows. Here we lay out five ways state policymakers could do just that.

In just two short months, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the American economy. The unemployment rate has reached levels that the country has not seen since the Great Depression nearly 100 years ago. Congress and the Trump Administration have responded by providing trillions of dollars of immediate relief to businesses and households to avoid even worse impacts. But no action has been taken on a simple measure that could help save hundreds of thousands of advanced energy jobs that otherwise may never return. The time to act is now, because time is running out.

Since 2016, the year when authoritative data first became available, we have been reporting the size and growth of employment in advanced energy on an annual basis. During that time, we have seen U.S. advanced energy jobs grow from 2.7 million in 2015 to 3.6 million in 2019. Each year the growth in advanced energy employment has outpaced growth in U.S. jobs overall, often by a factor of two or more. So it is with the latest numbers. But this is not like any other year. Rather, the job growth of last year is now overshadowed by the immediate job losses resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Now the critical jobs need is sustaining the industry during the lockdown – and making good on the employer expectations of growth coming into 2020 by driving the economic recovery to follow.

While Governor Sisolak and the State Legislature were hard at work passing policy after policy to make Nevada one of the best places in the country to invest in advanced energy, the latest employment figures showed what a strong industry base Nevada has to build on: 33,900 advanced energy jobs in 2018, with employers predicting further growth of 7% for the year now coming to a close. What’s more, advanced energy jobs increased a whopping 31% in Nevada from 2017 to 2018, 10 times the rate of overall job growth in the state and far faster than any other state where AEE has reported employment. That should win the Silver State a Gold Medal!

From left to right: Josh Cohen (Greenlots), Dylan Reed (AEE), Gloria Li (AEE), Andrew Apgar (Schneider Electric), Adam Mohabbat (EVgo), Eric McCarthy (Proterra)

With January right around the corner, many states are gearing up for the 2020 legislative session by filing bills and holding preliminary hearings. As a state with major opportunity for advanced energy, Florida is a place where AEE has been actively engaged in preparation for next year. On October 23,  AEE and our member companies flew to Tallahassee to present to the House Energy and Utilities Subcommittee and meet with legislators to discuss the trends and opportunities of advanced energy, specifically in electric vehicles, solar, and energy efficiency. Our message was clear: Advanced energy offers many benefits to Florida, including increased consumer choice and economic opportunity through job creation.