News

E&E News covered the $2 trillion stimulus bill noting AEE CEO Nat Kreamer's open letter to Congress, the administration, and quoting AEE's Dylan Reed. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E News piece here (sub. req.). 

The historic $2 trillion rescue bill moving through the House today was probably never going to be a green stimulus bonanza. But when the short-term crisis is over, Congress and the White House will have to turn their attention to the resulting recession, if not depression. And that's when the debate will begin in earnest over whether recovery legislation should create jobs by propping up flagging petroleum and coal producers or by helping the renewable energy sector. It's those recovery packages — which are likely to come over the next year, when the balance of power in Washington may have changed — that will hash out whether companies that tap into federal aid must improve their climate performance...

E&E News covered industry impact of the economic decline on the advanced energy industry, including AEE's survey findings. Read excerpts below and the entire E&E News piece here. 

The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), which represent developers and a wide variety of organizations with an interest in clean energy, conducted separate surveys of their members and found widespread concern that developers could miss deadlines for claiming federal tax credits for renewable projects. As many as three-fourths of respondents told ACORE they expected at least some impact on their ability to qualify for credits, and 57% said the impact would be "significant."

PV Magazine reported Arizona Corporate Commission is initiating a process to establish rules for reaching 100% renewable energy by 2050, featuring AEE's 100% clean energy states tracking map. Read excerpts below and the entire PV Magazine piece here. 

The Arizona Corporation Commission has directed its staff to develop a set of rules to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050, said Commission Chair Robert Burns in a letter on Wednesday. Commissioner Sandra Kennedy wrote the same day that while she preferred a standard of 100% clean energy by 2040, because “the science is clear regarding the need for aggressive decarbonization,” she would support a 2050 deadline to achieve majority agreement.

Virginia Mercury covered how the current economic and financial crisis may affect implementation of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, quoting AEE's JR Tolbert and AEE member Sigora Solar's Karla Loeb. Read excerpts below and the entire Virginia Mercury piece here. 

Three weeks ago, Virginia’s Democrat-led General Assembly passed the most ambitious plan for transitioning off of fossil fuels and onto renewable energy sources to come out of the South yet. It was a banner moment for environmentalists. Among the promises they secured were state commitments to build out 24 gigawatts of solar, wind and energy storage by 2035 — almost 40 percent more than the existing capacity of the fossil fuel units owned by the state’s largest utility, Dominion Energy — and annual targets that would bind the utilities to progressively including more and more renewables in their energy portfolios. Then the new coronavirus hit, and the financial markets tanked.

Companies report disruptions due to COVID-19 public health crisis, response to address immediate needs, and actions to position advanced energy for economic recovery 

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 26, 2020 – National business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) has sent an open letter to U.S. congressional leadership and the White House reporting on COVID-19 disruptions to industry, describing companies' response to help address the immediate health care crisis, and proposing actions to ensure the advanced energy industry's ability to contribute to economic recovery. Findings came from a survey of AEE member companies, which are engaged in a wide range of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, grid services, and electric vehicle businesses, as well as purchasing advanced energy goods and services.

S&P Global covered aspects of the coronavirus aid bill Congress passed related to energy, noting AEE recommendations. Read excerpts below and the entire S&P Global piece here. 

The U.S. Senate's final version of the coronavirus response bill contained few direct energy provisions but numerous items that could benefit the industry and its employees. Among them, the updated bill includes worker protection provisions and a $500 billion lending facility that could assist energy companies. On March 25, after several days of negotiations, the Senate passed a $2 trillion bill, the nation's third response to the coronavirus outbreak. The House will consider the proposed legislation on March 27.

Utility Dive covered the omission of the advanced energy sector within the $2T stimulus package that was passed by the House and Senate, referencing AEE position that shift to direct pay would be no-cost. Read excerpts below and the entire UD piece here. 

Relief for the renewable energy sector was not included in the $2 trillion support package the Senate unanimously passed on Wednesday. Despite a push from Democratic Senators and clean energy leaders to include tax credit extensions and other provisions in the package, Senate leadership chose instead to focus on healthcare and broader economic aid. But industry stakeholders say several of the broader economic provisions could provide employment and other relief to the sector, and there is still opportunity for inclusion in inevitable future federal legislation that will be needed to address the industry-wide impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Renewable Energy World covered FERC's approval of New York Independent System Operator (NYSIO)'s dual participation model, noting AEE siding with FERC on legal proceeding. Read excerpts below and the entire Renewable Energy World piece here. 

New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) received FERC approval for its dual participation model. Dual participation refers to resources that participate in both wholesale and retail markets. This model has positive benefits for distributed energy resources, including aggregated energy storage.

Denver Post reported on impact of the coronavirus pandemic on solar energy projects across the state amid uncertainty around tax credit incentives, including AEE's ask to Congress to shift to permanent direct cash payments in lieu of unworkable tax credits. Read excerpts below and the entire Denver Post piece here. The story and AEE's position were also covered by Washington Examiner and Smart Grid Today (sub. req.).

Colorado’s solar industry, among the country’s strongest, is joining forces with solar companies nationwide to push for extension of tax credits so they can finish projects being slowed or put on hold by the coronavirus outbreak. Concerns about not getting solar panels and other components from Asian countries in time have eased somewhat as China reports progress in fighting COVID-19, the highly infectious disease caused by the new coronavirus, and starts firing up idled manufacturing plants.

Utility Dive published an article by AEE CEO Nat Kreamer noting impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the advanced energy industry and recommending a no-cost legislative fix for Congress to keep projects, companies and workers moving forward. Read excerpts below and the entire UD piece here. 

As the nation confronts the coronavirus crisis, protecting human health and safety, mitigating the financial impact on people facing job loss or disruption, and addressing the disruption of those industries that are most affected by this health crisis must be the priority. Many of the 3.5 million workers in the advanced energy industry have jobs on the line right now. COVID-19 has disrupted the global supply chain of the advanced energy industry, which impacts the industry's workforce, suppliers and customers.