On March 23, Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEE Institute) hosted California gubernatorial hopeful Delaine Eastin for a roundtable session with AEE member companies in San Francisco. The former State Superintendent of Public Instruction shared her vision for maintaining California’s leadership on climate and energy issues, nationally and globally. Eastin underscored the imperative for long-range planning, and reiterated her commitment to ensuring continuity for the state’s critical advanced energy investments and programs.

On March 8, Ohio Advanced Energy Economy (Ohio AEE) sat down with Joe Schiavoni (D-Youngstown), state Senator and former Minority Leader, as we continued our series of meetings with gubernatorial candidates about the economic benefits and significant job growth of advanced energy technologies. This was Ohio AEE’s third in the series, including earlier meetings with Democrat candidate Richard Cordray, former head of the U.S. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, and Republican Mike DeWine, the state’s Attorney General.

As a legislator, Sen. Schiavoni has been a strong advocate for the advanced energy industry, organizing his caucus to vote against legislation that would weaken the state’s renewable and efficiency goals (RPS and EERS).

The 2018 legislative session of the Virginia General Assembly ended Saturday, capping a two-month sprint that included breakthrough legislation that will accelerate renewable energy development and energy efficiency investment in the Commonwealth, with AEE engaged all the way. But the legislature left behind some unfinished business: while much ink has covered the Assembly’s inability to pass a budget, lawmakers also failed to reach consensus on appointing a new member of the State Corporation Commission (SCC), which has potential implications for Virginia’s advanced energy future.

Here is a look back at the progress we have made, and ahead to unfinished business, as we work to build a greater presence in the Commonwealth and expand the market for advanced energy companies.

On March 8, Ohio Advanced Energy Economy (Ohio AEE) continued its series of meetings with Ohio gubernatorial hopefuls by sitting down with Attorney General Mike DeWine, the former U.S. Senator, and Republican frontrunner for governor.

In our meeting with Attorney General DeWine, a group of 10 companies with representatives from First Solar, Apex Clean Energy, Tradewind Energy, Schneider Electric, and Open Road Renewables among them, discussed the job creation potential associated with advanced energy. In addition, significant cost declines for renewable energy over the last decade (60% for solar and 80% for wind technology), improvement in grid reliability, and economic development that supports local schools in rural areas were key benefits that resonated with DeWine.

On March 6, Ohio Advanced Energy Economy (Ohio AEE) hosted an engaging roundtable chat with Ohio gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray, the former Ohio Attorney General who most recently served as director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As one participant put it, in this case, the picture does not do justice to the level of interest and engagement by Cordray as he sought to learn more about advanced energy technologies and companies and their impact on the state. He asked a lot of questions and conveyed genuine commitment to and support for expanding clean energy because it’s the right thing to do, it represents the future for Ohioans and we need to embrace it. 

The roundtable was the first in a series of meetings with the leading candidates for governor being organized by Ohio AEE. Through these roundtables, we hope to learn more about each candidate's vision for the state, and we hope they will learn more about the advanced energy industry that’s growing in Ohio.