Clean energy is good economic policy for Michigan

Posted by Laura Sherman on Nov 4, 2020 10:05:48 AM

AE Pays off for Michigan-745

This is a guest post by Laura Sherman, president of Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, an AEE state partner. The commentary was originally published by Energy News Network.  

Last month Gov. Gretchen Whitmer set a goal for Michigan to be carbon-neutral by 2050, a bold move that will bring more jobs and industry to the state. This executive order will continue to increase demand for innovative, business-driven solutions to reduce the impact of climate change. But three decades is a long time, so it may be difficult to imagine how achieving this goal will change Michigan’s economy.

Fortunately, though, we do not have to look out into the distant future to see how increasing the use of renewable energy, battery technology to store energy, electric vehicles (EVs) and energy efficiency—some of the advanced energy technologies that will be most important to achieving carbon neutrality—can deliver economic benefits. We can measure the economic growth and jobs that these energy innovations have already brought to Michigan and can continue to bring—not in 10, 20 or 30 years, but right now.

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Topics: State Policy, Guest Post, Advanced Energy Employment, Economic Impact

Federal Stimulus Investment in Advanced Energy – Here’s What It Would Mean for Eight States

Posted by Aidan Boyd on Oct 29, 2020 11:00:00 AM

stimulus economic impact reports-745

Whether the United States has “turned the corner” on the COVID-19 public health crisis or is looking at a long, cold winter of social distancing, at some point the conversation in Washington, D.C., is going to have to move from providing short-term relief to jumpstarting economic growth. When that time comes, advanced energy deserves to be high on the list for federal stimulus dollars. Public support is high: A recent New York Times/Siena poll shows that more than 70% of voters would support a $2 trillion renewable energy and infrastructure plan for economic stimulus. What would an infusion of stimulus funds like that mean for states? AEE, along with Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), asked Analysis Group, an international economics consultancy, to run the numbers for eight states. The results show a high ROI for public dollars put to work in advanced energy.

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Topics: State Policy, Advanced Energy Employment, Economic Impact

A Supply Chain is Growing for Electric Transportation. Here’s What It Could Do For One State.

Posted by Claire Alford and Daniel Bloom on Jun 8, 2020 10:58:08 AM

PA EV Blog-1

Recently, the United States experienced a shortage of essential medical supplies needed to treat an influx of patients with COVID-19, including respirators, gloves, face shields, gowns, and hand sanitizer – a shortage that drew national attention to the subject of supply chains. Interconnected, global supply chains can present challenges, but they also present opportunities for companies to scale their businesses by tapping into the global marketplace. That is especially true for markets that are on the rise, like the one for electric vehicles (EVs) and supporting charging infrastructure. The emerging supply chain for these products offers the prospect of business and job growth that can be seen on the local level in places with strength in the required skill sets. And that’s exactly what we found in our recent study of the EV supply chain in Pennsylvania.

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Topics: Advanced Transportation, Advanced Energy Employment

Before the Pandemic, Advanced Energy was Winning. Here’s What We Have to Do to Get Back in the Winner’s Circle.

Posted by Ryan Katofsky on Jun 4, 2020 1:28:10 PM

Advanced Energy on the move

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a tough time for the advanced energy industry, along with many others. With more than 600,000 jobs lost in the associated shutdown of the economy, the impact has been hard, and the difficulty of getting attention to it in Washington, D.C., even harder. But as states begin to open up, however slowly, and the focus of policymakers, state and federal, turns to jumpstarting economic activity, everyone who works in or cares about the transition to an advanced energy economy should take heart – and speak up.

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Topics: 21st Century Electricity System, Advanced Energy Employment

5 Steps for States to Keep Advanced Energy Progress on Track

Posted by Hannah Polikov on May 18, 2020 3:44:43 PM

Covid Steps for States-730

The numbers are staggering: 33 million Americans have lost their jobs since the start of the COVID pandemic, including nearly 600,000 in the advanced energy industry. And by the end of June, that number could hit 850,000. That would be nearly a quarter of the 3.6 million advanced energy jobs that existed at the start of the year – a time when advanced energy was a $238 billion a year industry in the United States, with employment that was growing nearly twice as fast as U.S. employment overall. For those of us who work in the industry, we know the new reality all too well, as emails bounce back not with “out of office,” but rather “no longer works here” or “has been furloughed.” It’s heartbreaking. But there are things state policymakers – especially governors and public utility commissioners – can do to prevent advanced energy business from coming to a complete halt during the public health crisis, and keep the advanced energy industry in a position to aid the economic recovery that follows. Here we lay out five ways state policymakers could do just that.

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Topics: PUCs, 21st Century Electricity System, Regulatory, Advanced Energy Employment

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