Advanced Energy Perspectives

In the 1920s the United States dominated the automobile market, led by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Co. Before that, cars were difficult to make and expensive to buy. But thanks to Ford’s Model T and (then) newfangled assembly line production, the demand for cars became overwhelming, driving production into high gear, putting Americans to work with higher wages, and lowering the cost of these vehicles. This phenomenon occurs with most new technologies, from the desktop computer to the toaster. So, it is no surprise that we see the same phenomenon happening with electric vehicles (EVs) nearly 100 years later. Question is: Is the U.S. prepared to dominate the EV market the way it did in Henry Ford’s time?

Last month, President Biden and a bipartisan group of senators announced an agreement around the framework of an infrastructure deal. This comes after several rounds of bipartisan negotiations between the White House and the Senate – first with Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the ranking member of the committee taking the lead on surface transportation reauthorization in the Senate, and then with a bipartisan coalition led by Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Rob Portman (R-OH). While there is much to debate in what is – and isn’t – included in the package, what is clear, from a new AEE study, is that the way to get the biggest bang for the federal infrastructure buck is investing in advanced energy.

This week, all eyes are on the Silver State as a much-anticipated clean energy bill moves through the legislative process on a short timeline. Taking on electric vehicles, transmission, wholesale electricity markets, energy efficiency, energy storage, integrated resource planning, economic development tariffs, net metering, and more, State Senator Chris Brooks’s SB 448 “New Energy Economy Act” is poised to inject new economic life into Nevada by harnessing the clean energy transition. With the session scheduled to end May 31, time is short to get this landmark legislation over the finish line.

Since taking office on January 20, President Biden has begun to lay out his plan for addressing four intertwined crises facing the country: the public health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, the associated economic crisis, climate change, and a legacy of racial injustice traced back to our country’s earliest roots. He has signed a series of executive orders aimed at addressing these crises, including rejoining the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and outlining a whole-of-government response to climate change with a focus on clean procurement, environmental justice, and support for communities dependent on fossil fuel industries. And he has outlined plans to push two legislative packages: the American Rescue Plan, focused on immediate COVID-19 response, and the Build Back Better Plan, focused on economic recovery. While details of the Build Back Better Plan are still forthcoming, at its core is a massive investment in infrastructure, prioritizing clean energy, domestic manufacturing, and union jobs. At AEE, we have some ideas about how to get the most economic bang out of federal bucks by investing in advanced energy.

This is a guest post by Laura Sherman, president of Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, an AEE state partner. The commentary was originally published by Energy News Network.  

Last month Gov. Gretchen Whitmer set a goal for Michigan to be carbon-neutral by 2050, a bold move that will bring more jobs and industry to the state. This executive order will continue to increase demand for innovative, business-driven solutions to reduce the impact of climate change. But three decades is a long time, so it may be difficult to imagine how achieving this goal will change Michigan’s economy.

Fortunately, though, we do not have to look out into the distant future to see how increasing the use of renewable energy, battery technology to store energy, electric vehicles (EVs) and energy efficiency—some of the advanced energy technologies that will be most important to achieving carbon neutrality—can deliver economic benefits. We can measure the economic growth and jobs that these energy innovations have already brought to Michigan and can continue to bring—not in 10, 20 or 30 years, but right now.