Advanced Energy Perspectives

If you would have asked me, back in the fall of 2013, if I thought I would be spending most of the next three years on a regulatory proceeding in New York, I would have answered “no.” Yet here I am, in the fall of 2016, still actively engaged in the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) proceeding. Although REV didn’t officially begin until the spring of 2014, we at AEE were already working with our member companies and New York’s utilities to articulate a collective vision for what a 21st century electricity system might look like in New York state, so it’s been a full three years for me and my colleagues Lisa Frantzis and Danny Waggoner. One question to ask is, has all that time been worth it? For me, the answer is an unequivocal “yes.” Not only have I reached Select status on Amtrak again this year, but REV remains the most significant proceeding (set of proceedings, really) in the country addressing utility regulatory and business model reform. Our participation has enabled us to bring the business voice to the conversation and, we believe, has contributed to positive outcomes already—with, we hope, many more to come.

Energy storage is a game changer. Ultimately, it could free the electric power system from matching generation and consumption on a minute-by-minute basis, saving electricity until it’s needed. Policymakers, utilities, and customers are beginning to recognize its value. Doug Little, chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission, summed up the potential of behind-the-meter (BTM) storage this way: “Energy storage technology is really the 'secret sauce’ for the future of residential rooftop solar.” At AEE, we agree, but add that it could be the secret sauce for numerous other applications - on both sides of the meter. That makes energy storage a key  technology for modernizing the energy grid and leading to an advanced energy future.

Ohio’s electricity system is at a crossroads. The freeze of the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and the energy efficiency resource standard (EERS) implemented by SB310 in 2014 will be lifted on January 1, 2017. Over the last two years, policy uncertainty has undermined investment in Ohio’s advanced energy industry. Meanwhile, utilities are warning of closures to uneconomic plants, which would leave customers exposed to reliability issues and rate hikes. To provide a data-driven perspective on Ohio’s energy challenges, AEE Institute has published a report assessing four possible scenarios for meeting the state’s energy needs and ensuring reliability. This analysis, which is based on the use of AEE Institute’s modeling tool, shows that Ohio can chart a long-term energy strategy that promotes affordable and reliable power by taking advantage of cost-competitive advanced energy technologies, while also benefiting the state’s economy.

California has taken another big step toward its advanced energy future, as the legislature approved the state’s next target for greenhouse gas reductions – 40% by 2030. Not to take credit, but that action took place just two weeks after an AEE delegation, with representatives of 26 member companies, visited 40 legislative offices urging lawmakers to set the 2030 target and extend the cap-and-trade allowance system to get there – though extending cap-and-trade will have to wait until next year.

The lobby day on August 10 was the action component of AEE’s two-day stand in Sacramento, followed as it was by our fourth annual Pathway to 2050 conference. Pathway provided a full day for issues like SB 350 implementation, cap-and-trade, corporate renewables procurement, CPUC reform, California ISO regional expansion, and vehicle electrification to get chewed over by industry leaders, legislators, regulators, and the media. The purpose of these discussions is to clarify policy pathways to an advanced energy economy that the industry can get behind.

“When businesses get behind a policy, change happens,” said board member Kevin Self of Schneider Electric, kicking off the conference. “AEE is that business voice of advanced energy.”

This is a guest post by the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University.

As Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) approach their target dates and are in need of renewal or replacement, many states are looking for ways to provide market certainty for energy efficiency in a way that would complement an energy efficiency mandate but do not necessarily require one to be in place. With the maturation of the energy efficiency industry driven over the last decade by EERS policies, there are many policy options for states to consider that will reduce barriers, provide financing, and expand the productivity of utility systems across the spectrum. In a new paper prepared for the Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEE Institute), the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University (CNEE) examines a suite of policies and programs to expand and grow the marketplace for energy efficiency. With 20 in all, state leaders have a lot of energy efficiency policies to choose from.