Last September, the Advanced Energy Buyers Group launched with the mission to advocate for policies that would make it easier for large customers to pursue advanced energy, and to accelerate the transition to an energy system that is more secure, clean, and affordable for all customers. One year in, we have secured a few key wins—and the work is just beginning.

Screenshot of ConEd Cars, the New York utility's car-choice comparison tool. 

This is a guest post from AEE member company Enervee.

As noted by AEE in its new issue brief, EVs 101, the evolution of transportation will depend to a large extent on the choices of consumers. This may seem self-evident, but the consumer perspective can easily get lost in the high-stakes discussions surrounding electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure – what’s needed where and when, who should provide it, and how to pay for it. But when it comes to cars, consumers are king – and the overwhelming majority believe that their energy provider should help them understand the benefits of EVs over conventional vehicles. That’s something regulators should capitalize on as they prepare to grow the market for EVs.

Photo by Alan Stark, used under a Creative Commons license. 

With the Trump Administration clear on its intentions to repeal and replace the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan (CPP), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on August 21 finally released its "Affordable Clean Energy" proposal. Given the name, one might expect the so-called ACE rule to lean on current market trends toward low- and non-emitting advanced energy technologies, such as natural gas, solar, wind, and energy efficiency, on the basis of cost. That’s what the CPP attempted to do, doubling down on these trends and allowing states to design compliance plans using market-based trading to find the lowest-cost paths to compliance. ACE, in contrast, takes a hard turn away from lower-cost advanced energy options and market-based trading in favor of old-fashioned command-and-control regulation that would only allow costly investments at existing coal-fired power plants—which is bad news for consumers and the advanced energy industry alike.  

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.