On May 23, Advanced Energy Economy Institute convened a full house of advanced energy technologies (with representatives of 10 AEE member companies) to meet with Joey Freeman, policy director for Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s gubernatorial campaign. Joey was joined by Jared Blumenfeld, who is advising the campaign on energy and environment issues. Joey and Jared reinforced the candidate’s support for advanced energy growth, and emphasized a commitment to working with our industry to push the envelope on the state’s economic growth and aggressive decarbonization goals.  

Even as Ohioans get ready to elect a new governor, the Ohio legislature is once again struggling to determine whether it will move forward, or backward, on energy policy. More than a year has passed since the Ohio House voted to approve House Bill 114, a bill that would effectively eliminate the state’s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards. Since then, Senate Leaders have worked to develop a compromise that preserves the state’s requirements but reduces them enough to satisfy the House without running afoul of Gov. Kasich, who vetoed lawmakers’ last attempt to gut the state’s RPS and EERS outright. The bill also needs to address the state’s burdensome wind setback requirement, which the Senate tried to fix in the 2017 budget bill. With time running out before the legislature breaks for summer recess, many are wondering – do Ohio lawmakers have the will to reach a constructive deal that finally puts Ohio’s energy policy on a stable course this year? Or will Ohio’s energy future be left to the legislature’s next session – and next governor?

AEE and CEP member companies meet with gubernatorial hopeful Chris Giunchigliani.

This is a guest post from Clean Energy Project, AEE's state partner in Nevada. For more information about AEE's State Coalition, click here. 

Last week, the Clean Energy Project, in conjunction with Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), hosted a series of roundtable discussions with Nevada gubernatorial candidates Chris Giunchigliani, Steve Sisolak, and a representative from Adam Laxalt’s campaign. These meetings provided an opportunity for each campaign to engage with representatives from clean energy companies and learn about the possibilities for Nevada’s energy future. All three guests were keen to hear the importance of clean energy to the state and were very receptive to the economic messages delivered by roundtable participants.

This is a guest post by Suzanne L. Bertin, Executive Director, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, an AEE state partner. To learn more about TAEBA, click here. To learn more about AEE’s nationwide coalition of state and regional partners, click here.

Last week, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved a settlement agreement regarding improvements to the Smart Meter Texas (SMT) portal, with a diverse group of stakeholders, including Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) signing on to the agreement. These changes will make it easier for customers in much of Texas to have advanced energy companies provide services such as energy efficiency, demand response, distributed generation, and other energy-related software products and services – and fulfill the promise of smart meters, and the granular data they generate.

Chinese container ship unloading at Charleston, S.C. Photo by Mr.TinDC used under a Creative Commons license. 

From his first campaign speech to the first 15 months of his Administration, President Trump has made changing the terms of U.S trade deals a central priority, and in 2018 he has proposed a variety of tariffs. In particular, tariffs on Chinese imports have been one of the major trade policies put forward by the Administration. Most analysts have focused on the tariff impacts on particular products, such as steel and aluminum, or how potential retaliatory tariffs from China could impact American interests, such as agriculture.

Unfortunately, advanced energy will be impacted too. In comments to the U.S. Trade Representative, we outline the impacts of proposed tariffs on advanced energy products such as smart thermostats, electric vehicles, and wind turbine components. AEE believes the Administration is taking important steps to combat unfair trade practices by China, but we are also concerned that imposing tariffs on certain products will hurt the advanced energy industry and consumers, without achieving the administration’s goals.