Advanced energy employs 3.4 million workers across the United States, supporting more jobs than retail stores and twice as many as hotels and motels. These are some of the findings of AEE’s analysis of the latest data on energy sector employment. The U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), published this year by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and last year by the U.S. Department of Energy, is the definitive source of information on energy industry jobs in the United States. But digging into the data underlying the report, in collaboration with labor market research firm BW Research Associates, which administers the nationwide survey it is based on, reveals important trends in the advanced energy industry, which is both growing and changing.

This is a guest post from the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, AEE’s state partner.

On June 4, the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council (Michigan EIBC) and Institute for Energy Innovation (IEI) held the first in a series of gubernatorial candidate roundtables in Michigan. The business leaders from Michigan EIBC and AEE sat down with former senator Gretchen Whitmer to discuss energy policy. Whitmer, of Lansing, is the former Ingham County prosecuting attorney and minority leader of the Michigan Senate. Michigan EIBC has reached out to all of the major party candidates to request similar off-the-record briefings, and we look forward to additional meetings in the coming weeks. 

In what feels like a never-ending showing of the movie Groundhog Day, the Trump Administration is yet again trying to bail out uneconomic power plants that are slated for retirement. This time, it looks like the Administration is using a national security approach to justify its attempt to help major campaign donor Bob Murray’s failing coal business. But once again, within the broader energy industry, the reaction against this latest scheme has been strong, with AEE fully engaged. 

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.

Photo by ttarasiuk, used under a Creative Commons license. 

In Virginia, several voluntary renewable energy tariffs have been introduced by the state’s two largest investor-owned utilities, Dominion Energy (Dominion) and Appalachian Power Co. (APCo). Customers also have the option to purchase renewable energy from competitive service providers, with certain restrictions. Are the options now available sufficient to meet the needs of Virginia’s diverse businesses that want renewable energy to power their operations?

The purpose of renewable energy tariffs, in Virginia and elsewhere, is to give customers (generally commercial and industrial, or C&I, customers) of vertically integrated utilities a way to choose renewable energy to meet their electricity needs. For some customers, the programs in Virginia have done the trick. But others are still waiting for a plan that’s right for them. AEE and Virginia AEE have teamed up to provide a guide to renewable energy in the Commonwealth – how to get it, and what needs to change to get all customers the renewable energy they want.