[Washington, DC – August 3, 2015]: Advanced Energy Economy issued the following statement in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule for carbon emissions from the electric power sector:

“With the Clean Power Plan now final, the question is not whether to reduce carbon emissions from the electric power sector in Florida but how,” said Graham Richard, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy, a national business association. “By making use of technologies and services such as energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy, and energy storage, Florida will be able to lower costs, improve reliability, and increase consumer choice as it reduces emissions. With advanced energy a $6 billion industry in the state, AEE’s member companies stand ready to help state regulators develop a plan that meets EPA’s target for the Sunshine State, improves electric power service for business and residential customers, and helps build the Florida economy at the same time.”

Background:

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final rule for carbon emissions from existing power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Power Plan (CPP). The CPP sets state-by-state targets for emission reductions, but allows states to develop their own compliance plans. The state targets are based on what EPA determined to be the “best system of emission reduction” (BSER). In the final rule, EPA based the BSER on state-specific potentials for emission reductions from a set of “Building Blocks” that include both traditional smokestack controls as well as “beyond the fence line” measures. Although emission rate targets are set by the building blocks, there is no requirement that states use those specific measures for compliance.

The CPP presents an opportunity for states to modernize and upgrade their electricity systems by allowing them to draw from a range of advanced energy technologies and services, including energy efficiency, demand response, energy service company (ESCO) projects, natural gas, wind, solar, smart grid, nuclear power, fuel cells, combined heat and power, and transmission and distribution system efficiencies. Used together, these technologies and services create and maintain a high-performing energy system—one that is reliable and resilient, diverse, cost-effective, and clean—while also enabling new customer services. 

In June, AEE published the first comprehensive analysis of the advanced energy market in Florida. That report, Advanced Energy in Florida, showed that advanced energy was a $6.2 billion market in 2014, bigger by revenue than the state’s international agricultural exports, which totaled $4.2 billion that year. Advanced Energy in Florida is available for download here.

Advanced energy is defined as a broad category of technologies and products, made up of the best products and services in seven major industry segments: building efficiency, electricity generation, transportation, fuel production, industry, electricity delivery and management, and fuel delivery. In addition to providing market data, Advanced Energy in Florida profiled several AEE member companies and described their business activities in numerous Florida communities.

Organized as AEE’s Florida Steering Committee, representatives of AEE member companies looking to expand in or into Florida met with administration officials and lawmakers in Tallahassee to brief them on the report and introduce their companies to state leaders.

About Advanced Energy Economy

Advanced Energy Economy is a national association of businesses that are making the global energy system more secure, clean and affordable. Advanced energy encompasses a broad range of products and services that constitute the best available technologies for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. AEE’s mission is to transform public policy to enable rapid growth of advanced energy businesses. AEE and its State Partner organizations, which are active in 26 states across the country, represent more than 1,000 organizations in the advanced energy industry.

Media Contact:

Monique Hanis, mhanis@aee.net, 202-391-0884. 

# # #