Advanced Energy Perspectives

One week after the election, we can confidently say that Americans from all walks of the political spectrum were energized to vote. It was the largest turnout in a midterm election in 50 years, with over 110 million ballots cast across the country. As we look to what this means for the industry, it is clear that Americans want their elected leaders to prioritize advanced energy policy at both the state and federal level. New market and policy opportunities emerge at the state and federal level from the election results. Here are AEE’s top five takeaways on the election and what it means for advanced energy.

Massachusetts State House, photo by ctj71081, used under a Creative Commons license. 

This is a guest post from the Northeast Clean Energy Council, AEE’s regional partner. For more information on AEE’s State Coalition, click here.

It was a long and hard-fought two-year legislative session in Massachusetts, and the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC), AEE’s regional partner, was in the trenches on behalf of its members throughout. On the heels of landmark energy legislation in 2016, and with numerous other high-priority items on the agenda for legislators, clean energy faced a real risk of falling by the wayside before the session ended on July 31. However, a final push by a broad coalition of clean energy, environmental, healthcare, and business advocates helped legislative champions propel a strong, though incomplete, package of clean energy provisions over the finish line on the final day.

As California legislators raced to beat the proverbial “pumpkin” at midnight last Friday, the advanced energy community closed out a remarkable legislative session with a host of significant wins – but left one notable issue to be addressed in the next session. With bills spanning advanced transportation, energy efficiency, energy storage, resource adequacy, wildfire mitigation, direct access to renewable energy, and microgrids, the session seemed to have something for everyone. AEE was at the heart of action in Sacramento, with an active position on over 15 bills this year – and an impressive record of success.

Photo by njtrout_2000, used under a Creative Commons license. 

This is a guest post from Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance, AEE’s state partner in Pennsylvania. For more information on AEE’s State Coalition, click here.

In recent years, many states have grappled with the challenge of balancing the interests of regulated energy utilities to earn revenue by selling power with the public policy goal of reducing energy consumption.  To meet this challenge, more than 30 states in the U.S. have successfully used innovative utility rates, termed “alternative ratemaking,” to better align utility financial incentives with the public policy goal of increasing energy efficiency and distributed energy resources. Research by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy shows that states with alternative ratemaking policies achieve 50% higher savings from their energy efficiency programs.  Following two recent actions, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is now poised to take advantage of these tools as well.

This is a guest post from Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance, AEE’s state partner in Pennsylvania. For more information on AEE’s State Coalition, click here.

Pennsylvania is known for coal and natural gas, but increasingly the state is becoming a leader in energy efficiency. Our efficiency industry now accounts for over 62,000 local jobs. Act 129, our landmark energy efficiency law, has played a big role in the industry’s growth, delivering $6.4 billion in customer benefits in the law’s first seven years. Still, much of our energy efficiency resource remains untapped. Massachusetts has about half the population of Pennsylvania, but almost twice the energy efficiency jobs. Removing barriers to energy efficiency investments, such as payback time and access to capital, can go a long way to helping the Keystone State realize significantly more of its energy efficiency potential. That’s why the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA) applauded as Gov. Wolf signed Act 30, new legislation to enable Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) in Pennsylvania. The bill, which passed the House 163-28 after clearing the Senate 42-8 earlier this year, adds Pennsylvania to the 33 states and District of Columbia that offer C-PACE as a way for commercial property owners to finance energy upgrades that save them money.