Advanced Energy Perspectives

Image of Block Island Wind Farm, Rhode Island. 

This week, advanced energy brought winds of prosperity to all corners. New York’s Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) this week approved a plan to build the largest offshore wind farm in the U.S. to date, and with more to come. And AEE members show how solar power and storage can take on functions normally assigned to peaker plants. Just another week in advanced energy news.

This week, much of the news media is tied up with what’s happening in Washington, D.C., but advanced energy never stops working. From Utility Dive’s story of advanced energy job growth to more coverage of the love affair between big business and advanced energy, to a California lawmaker musing on whether the state should run on 100% renewable energy, it’s been a week to remember.

Image courtesy of BMW.

We’ve entered the mid-winter slump up here in the northern hemisphere, but don’t worry. Between news of major deals and investments and advanced vehicles making headlines at both CES and the Detroit Auto Show, things are certainly looking sunny for advanced energy in the week that was. 

To start this week’s recap off we have Sunrun and National Grid, which have entered into a partnership worth about $100 million. National Grid, a natural gas and electric utility that has more than 20 million customers in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island as well as the United Kingdom, has partnered with Sunrun to sell small-scale solar systems to residential consumers and small commercial customers. The initial goal is to install rooftop solar on 100,000 single family homes in downstate New York, but both companies expect something much larger soon.

It’s the first week of the year, and the news is already teeming with stories about advanced energy. From cars that drive themselves stealing the show at CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) to new developments in EV batteries to entire countries running exclusively on advanced energy, the news demonstrates that advanced energy is here to stay.

2016 was a big year for advanced energy, and advanced energy was big in 2016. According to our Advanced Energy Now 2016 Market Report, advanced energy represents a $1.4 trillion global industry, with $200 billion of that in the U.S. – and growing! Last week we brought you Part 1 of our Top 10 news stories, with everything from America’s first offshore wind farm to energy storage’s best year ever. Here’s Part 2!