by Brianna Crandall — November 3, 2014—Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) celebrated a successful session in California’s state capitol in pursuit of its mission to transform public policy to enable rapid growth of advanced energy companies. According to AEE, new laws that the organization supported will accelerate the deployment of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state and streamline permits for rooftop solar installations. Also seen as positive was the demise of a bill to delay bringing vehicle fuels under California’s cap-and-trade system, which would have slowed the move to alternatives to petroleum such as biofuels and electric vehicles.
A national organization established in 2011, AEE has become leading business voice for advanced energy companies located or doing business in California. Its membership roster ranges from tech giant Microsoft to growing companies like EnerNOC, a provider of energy intelligence software that helps grid operators manage peak demand, as well as rooftop solar providers SolarCity and Sungevity. According to AEE, “advanced energy” encompasses energy efficiency, natural gas electric generation, solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, electric vehicles, biofuels and smart grid.
AEE worked to advance a number of bills and budget items in the 2013-14 legislative session. These included additional finance dollars for the Proposition 39 public building retrofit program, extension of the Self-Generation Incentive Program, extension of the Solar Property Tax exemption, and investment of cap and trade revenue. See AEE’s full blog post on the legislative session on the organization’s Web site.
Among the noteworthy legislative achievements supported by AEE in California, which AEE considers the leader of energy innovation in the United States, are:
- PASSED: AB 2565 (Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi) provides a practical solution for landlords and businesses, and addresses the growing need for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations around the state. Specifically, this new law will facilitate the build-out of charging infrastructure at businesses and multifamily housing units by giving lessees the opportunity to pay for the cost of installation and upkeep of the charging station.
- PASSED: AB 2188 (Muratsuchi) streamlines the process for obtaining permits to install residential solar energy systems.
- DEFEATED: AB 69 (Perea) would have threatened to delay the next step in the state’s climate plan. In 2015, transportation fuels are due to come under the cap-and-trade system for carbon reduction. With the petroleum industry expressing its opposition and concern over the potential for a spike in fuel prices, this bill was introduced to delay the move until 2018, leaving transportation fuels out of the cap-and-trade program. AEE opposed the bill as part of a strong coalition of business groups that kept the bill from advancing late in the session.
For those who want or need to keep track of energy legislation and regulatory paperwork in California or other states, AEE developed PowerSuite, a robust set of tools that allows members of the media, policymakers and other users to search, track, and collaborate on energy legislation and regulatory proceedings from across the country with one easy-to-use interface.
