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Texas’ ADER Task Force Makes Progress on VPPs, Challenges Remain

Workshops Drive Progress for Distributed Resources in Texas (1)

Roughly one-third of Americans report having a side hustle to supplement their income. Side hustles range from delivery drivers to social media influencers and may soon include something surprising—electricity providers. That’s the promise of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), letting consumers sell their unused energy back to the grid and get compensated for it. A VPP is formed when distributed energy resources – like solar panels, batteries, and EVs – are combined, or “aggregated” together and managed as a single resource like a power plant.  VPP

VPPs turn electricity consumers into power producers by connecting distributed energy resources, like home solar panels and batteries, and managing them like a single power plant. Image by Advanced Energy United.

Texas made headlines last year when it launched two VPPs that provided power to the state's electric grid. The VPPs are part of a pilot project managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and facilitated by the Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource (ADER) Task Force, a group of businesses, utilities, and research organizations providing expertise. I represent United’s state chapter, the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, as a member of the task force. 

The ADER Pilot Project is a testing ground for allowing consumers to contribute energy to the electricity market, thereby becoming prosumers, or entities that both consume and produce electricity. This ultimately enhances grid reliability and creates value streams for Texans. To ease these resources into the market, the maximum energy the pilot can provide is 80 MW. 

While 8 ADERs have registered to participate in the project, only two have been approved since late August 2023. Although this showcases the feasibility of VPPs, the registered ADERs represent only 16% of the pilot project energy cap and the approved ADERs represent even less—just under 12%. While there is positive momentum, several challenges exist that, if resolved, could unlock the untapped potential, and energy, of the ADER Pilot Project. 

In this phase of discussions, the Task Force identified critical aspects of ADER participation that need to be addressed, for example: 

  • Interoperability; 
  • telemetry validation processes and requirements; 
  • compliance metrics for ADERs; and 
  • alternative participation models and dispatch strategies. 

Allow me to translate.  

Achieving interoperability will allow customers to enroll more of their eligible devices, e.g. a Google smart thermostat, a Sunrun rooftop solar system or a Ford electric vehicle, in a VPP program, because the devices can “talk” to each other and share relevant data. Without this, people may have to pick and choose which devices to enroll in the program, which may minimize how much energy they can provide and how much money they can make. The importance of interoperability is illustrated well in comments from AutoGrid, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric and Octopus Energy, a retail electric provider in Texas. 

The Task Force will also need to ensure that the pilot project framework encourages participation, appropriately values ADERs and addresses barriers to entry for businesses and prosumers. For example, ERCOT requires ADERs to send, or “telemeter”, data to them every few seconds which may be feasible for a power plant but can be costly and onerous for ADERs. Difficult compliance requirements like this can discourage participation, raising the question: Does ERCOT need to establish alternative participation models and dispatch strategies for VPPs to lower barriers and improve participation?   

On January 12, the Task Force began building consensus amongst members on these challenging topics as they reviewed the governing document for the project, recently updated by ERCOT. 

Most substantive recommendations touched on four key topics: 1) ensuring processes as described in the governing document align with workflows in practice, 2) making progress towards increasing avenues for participation for ADERs, 3) codifying open communication standards which are seen as a prerequisite to ubiquitous and inclusive customer participation and 4) allowing ADERs to provide another ancillary service, the ERCOT Contingency Reserve Service or ECRS. 

Next, the draft governing document heads to the ERCOT Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for review and consideration of ADER Task Force member comments and recommendations. 

The ADER Pilot Project exemplifies the evolving energy landscape in Texas and signifies that the state is on the precipice of a more innovative energy future, leading the way for the rest of the nation.  

Entities serving electric customers in the ERCOT region are encouraged to explore joining the ADER Pilot Project. 


Energy Efficiency Reforms Stall in Texas as the Grid Staggers Under Record Demand

A Critical Tool, Energy Efficiency Can Enhance Texas Grid Reliability

August 29, 2023
by Micalah Spenrath, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) began this year by engaging stakeholders on energy efficiency. The pace was ambitious, but now progress has stalled. Through the Energy Efficiency Implementation Project (EEIP), stakeholders participated in biweekly working groups that ran from January through March culminating in a number of recommendations and best practices for the Commission. But the trail has since run cold; Now as ERCOT, Texas’ primary grid operator, issues rapid-fire notices asking Texans to voluntarily reduce their electricity use to avert a grid emergency, we are left to wonder when the Commission will take up the EEIP’s recommendations and unlock Texas’ full energy efficiency potential. 

Energy efficiency is using less energy to achieve the same result. This is commonly done through a combination of upgraded technology and better building managementFor example, an ENERGY STAR-certified dryer will dry your clothes using less energy than a dryer from 1999, and an LED light bulb will illuminate your room using less energy than older modelsThat’s technology in action to reduce unnecessary energy use. Better building management may look like turning an office building’s air conditioner off Friday eveningthen using software to turn it back on remotely before employees return Monday morning rather than cooling the office through the weekend. Better building management empowers businesses to keep employees comfortable while using less energy overall.

Texas’ existing energy efficiency programs fall short of addressing reliability challenges associated with high energy demand. The goals set by these programs, and the budgets to achieve those goals, are simply too small to produce impactful results and the existing programs largely target industrial and commercial energy users despite significant energy demand from residential consumers. The EEIP workshops recommended several best practices to address these issues, including: 

  • Focus on the customer by providing tangible value such as energy savings, demand reductions, and increased affordability. 
  • Integrate energy efficiency and demand response, an incentive-based program where customers are paid to reduce energy under certain circumstances. 
  • Coordinate between ERCOT programs, different market actors, and extend access to underserved customer segments. 

A key theme of the workshops was the need for changes to statutory and regulatory frameworks to support energy efficiency measures. The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), United’s state chapter, provided comments echoing this need and continues to engage the PUCT on energy efficiency reform.

Due to the state’s competitive market, there are strong incentives to build more generation and to shore up more supply. But as demand for electricity breaks records, and as ERCOT calls for voluntary conservation despite more than 98,000 MW of expected supply this summer, it is clear that ensuring reliability requires a two-fold approach: adequate supply and demand reduction. As the saying goes: sometimes less is more. In this case, using less energy supports a more reliable energy system. 

We encourage the Public Utility Commission of Texas to prioritize reforms to Texas’ energy efficiency programs and to continue to make progress on the Energy Efficiency Implementation Project.


Discussing the Future of Distributed Energy Resources at the Public Utility Commission of Texas

Workshops Drive Progress for Distributed Resources in Texas copy

July 19, 2023
by Micalah Spenrath, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Texas’ demand for electricity breaks records year after year as the state battles extreme weather. Although Texas accounts for about 1/7th of the nation’s total energy consumption and uses more energy than any other state, demand for electricity keeps rising. Unlike traditional power plants that require years to become operational, distributed energy resources (DERs) are a readily available tool that Texas can use to meet this significant electricity demand.

These resources are versatile and, under the right policy framework, can enhance reliability, resilience, and energy affordability. In a previous report, Future Proofing the Texas Grid with Distributed Energy Resources, we demonstrated the value of DERs and recommended that Texas take an intentional approach to supporting DER adoption. State regulators now have a tremendous opportunity to set standards for DER integration that could grow the role that these valuable resources play in firming up the Texas power grid. 

Through a rulemaking process, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) is working with stakeholders to revise regulations that govern the technical requirements and interconnection processes for DERs. However, almost 9 months after the initiation of that process, revisions to the rules are far from final. The most recent phase of this process, a series of workshops, indicates that defining important details for DER integration requires a more collaborative approach to balance the technical complexity of the subject with stakeholder perspectives and considerations. 

Over the past two months, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) has participated in three DER workshops hosted by the PUCT. These workshops represented an invaluable opportunity to connect with diverse stakeholders, ranging from utilities, consumer advocates, advanced energy businesses, and trade organizations, and to continue our advocacy for policies that support DER adoption in the state.  

To guide our engagement in these workshops, we solicited input from members like Schneider Electric, Enchanted Rock, Convergent Energy and Power, Octopus Energy, Sunnova, Sunpower, CPower Energy Management, and Sunrun. These discussions aimed to answer the Commission’s questions about DER rules and requirements: 

  • Should utilities provide data on grid conditions to DER providers and other stakeholders? The Commission is weighing whether to require utilities to provide hosting capacity data, which represents the amount of DERs that can be accommodated by the distribution system without compromising reliability or requiring system upgrades. TAEBA supports requiring hosting capacity analysis reporting because this information can improve transparency into grid conditions, facilitate the strategic development of the distribution system and ensure practical placement of DERs. 
  • How can costs be fairly distributed among utilities and DER providers? TAEBA recommends that costs allocated to businesses be itemized to ensure fairness and transparency. 
  • Are interconnection processes and timelines practical and how should they be changed in light of incoming DER investment in Texas? TAEBA recommends that the Commission ensure that revisions to timelines result in the timely interconnection of DERs; and that, when possible, the Commission encourage collaboration between the DER provider and the utility. TAEBA further recommends that limitations be placed on the length of delays to ensure project progress. 
  • What technical and operational standards should DERs adhere to? TAEBA supports the use of standards representing best practices including UL 1741, which sets standards for DER equipment, and IEEE 1547 which establishes criteria and requirements for interconnection of DERs to the grid. Where appropriate, we support the removal of technical standards from the substantive rules for inclusion in ERCOT nodal protocols to ensure that standards can be readily updated. Timely updates to regulatory policies would facilitate DER adoption by reducing business uncertainty and encouraging adherence to best practices and standards. 

Throughout the workshops, policy recommendations from DER providers converged on a few key themes:

  • increase transparency into grid conditions;
  • standardize requirements and processes throughout Texas, where feasible;
  • increase transparency of costs charged to DER providers; and 
  • ensure timelines in the rule ensure timely processing and interconnection of DERs.

Investor-owned and municipally owned utilities were present at the workshops along with cooperatives. They communicated their positions, preferences, and limitations in regard to the proposed changes to substantive rules. Cooperatives and municipal utilities expressed a preference to not be included in any future regulations, however, in the final workshop, ERCOT recommended that the rules be applied to all entities. TAEBA supports this path forward on future rulemakings, as it would ensure clarity and predictability for DER developers no matter the utility territory in which their customers reside or do business.  

These workshops represent a welcomed dialogue between regulated entities, energy businesses, and the Commission but there is more work to do. With the Aggregated Distributed Energy Resources (ADER) pilot project, the Energy Efficiency Implementation Project, and the work to implement directives from the Texas legislature, it is clear that the Commission will continue to rely on stakeholders to ensure consistency and compatibility between all the exciting energy work in Texas. 

New Report Identifies Economic Savings for Texans, Optimal Approach for Modernizing the Texas Electric Grid

1,350 more miles of electric transmission lines needed to meet Texas’ growing energy needs

June 17, 2023
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

AUSTIN, TXA new report by Texas-based energy analysis group IdeaSmiths LLC has modeled the most cost-effective path for the Texas electric grid to meet the state’s growing electricity needs by 2040, aiming to more effectively guarantee lower pricing for consumers. According to the report, keeping up with the demand for electricity will require the construction of approximately 1,350 miles of new transmission lines.

"The report lays out a clear, actionable roadmap for the ERCOT grid," says Matt Boms, Executive Director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), which co-funded the report with national business association Advanced Energy United. "Our findings underscore the urgent need for modernizing Texas’s electricity infrastructure. Adopting this roadmap will lower electricity bills for millions of Texans, bolster grid reliability and create thousands of jobs in the Lone Star State." 

“With roughly 12 million more Texans expected by 2040, the goal of this research is to help the state’s electric grid operator identify how to meet our growing energy needs in the most cost-effective way possible,” said IdeaSmiths CTO Dr. Joshua Rhodes, who led the research. “The findings should send a strong message to the Texas grid operator that we must urgently find ways to speed up the process of expanding the electric grid in the form of new transmission lines or else we will burden Texans with unnecessarily high energy costs and a less efficient power grid.”  

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid operating organization that serves roughly 90% of Texas’ electric load, expects electricity consumption to increase over 30% in the next decade. This growth, coupled with the natural retirement of power plants as they age, will require new generating capacity to meet the growth in demand and more efficiently move power throughout the grid.

To reach a least-cost path to 2040, the technology-neutral analysis recommends deploying about 130 GW of new energy capacity – in the form of wind, solar, natural gas, and energy storage – which in turn delivers about 213 million more MWh of energy for Texas by 2040. Transmission upgrades could result in over $1.1 billion per year in production cost savings averaged over 15 years, while costing about $9.4 billion to build. The report authors note that the net $7 billion in savings is understated given ERCOT’s highly conservative production cost savings definition, which fails to account for transmission benefits that are quantified in every other electricity market in the United States.

In addition, the lowest-cost option would also provide:  

  • $18.9 billion in new local taxes generated by expanded renewable energy deployment and $20.1 billion in new payments for landowners over project timelines.  
  • 40,700 new jobs (20-year, full-time equivalent) supported by the construction and operation of the new transmission, solar, wind, and energy storage technology deployment. 
  • A reduction of about 121 billion fewer lbs. of CO2 as well as 316 million fewer lbs. of SO2 and 75 million fewer lbs. of NOx, per year than the grid of 2022.  
  • A reduction of about 50 billion gallons of water per year consumed by the energy grid for cooling, and 6.4 trillion fewer gallons of water withdrawn per year, compared to the grid of 2022.

Texas

"ERCOT can save consumers money and bolster reliability while investing in smarter long term transmission planning," states Tonya Miller, Executive Director of the Texas Solar Power Association. "Grid reliability is best maintained through transmission planning that includes a comprehensive look at both the cost and benefits of projects in the long term. Proactive infrastructure investment is key to securing reliability and lowering electricity bills for Texan families." 

“The report clearly demonstrates the many energy, economic, and environmental benefits that can be realized for all Texas consumers through a sustained and focused build out of the power grid,” said Mark Stover, Director of State Affairs at Apex Clean Energy. “A more holistic, timely, and smarter transmission planning process is needed, however, to realize these benefits and to ensure that growth in demand is met in the most cost-effective manner. We are long overdue for substantive policy reforms to our transmission planning process and we will continue to work to deliver solutions that are consistent with other energy markets and will put Texas back in the leadership position.”

Click here to read and download the full report. 

New Texas Electric Grid Pilot Project Will Demonstrate Benefits of Virtual Power Plants 

Survey of Texans Shows Wide Support for technology that allows owners of distributed energy resources to help stabilize the grid 

July 19, 2022
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Today, Texas Advanced Energy Business Association (TAEBA) congratulated the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) for providing initial approval for a pilot project for the development and demonstration of an aggregated distributed energy resource called a Virtual Power Plant. A Virtual Power Plant is made up of small-scale resources, like home energy storage batteries, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats that can be coordinated with software to provide power back to the electric grid, particularly in times of high energy use in the state. The PUCT memo to ERCOT calling for the launch of the new program marks an important step toward a more reliable power grid in Texas. 

“Texas is in a power crunch, and state regulators are wisely looking into ways to make better use of the extra energy being produced by Texas homes and businesses that is currently sitting on the sidelines,” said TAEBA Executive Director Ignacio Guajardo. “There’s enough extra energy being produced that, when combined, is equivalent to a power plant. It makes sense for ERCOT to tap into that extra energy for the electric grid in times of need.” 

A statewide survey commissioned by TAEBA earlier this year found wide support and interest from Texans in VPPs. 76 percent of Texans said “individuals or groups should be allowed to provide extra electricity back to the energy grid in times of need, and should be paid for the electricity they provide like any other energy source.” 

TAEBA took part in recent PUCT workshops on VPPs, providing policy and technology recommendations in coordination with its business membership.  

“Compensating households and businesses for the extra power they can provide to the electric grid, and allowing for VPP participation in ERCOT markets, will lead to more people embracing technologies that allow them to be more energy independent while also improving the stability of the power grid for all users,” added Guajardo

The PUCT says it will be forming a Task Force to work with ERCOT as its staff prepared the pilot program. The next PUCT meeting to discuss the project is July 28, and PUCT says it hopes the pilot will launch in the beginning of 2023. 

Texas Can Do More to Deploy Cost- and Life-Saving Technologies to the Power Grid, Finds New TAEBA Report

June 15, 2022
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

A new report from Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), prepared by Converge Strategies, LLC and Synapse Energy Economics, shows how a suite of small, advanced technologies called "distributed energy resources" should be used to help improve the way Texas responds to emergencies like natural disasters. 

Distributed energy resources (DERs) are technologies – including rooftop solar and energy-storing batteries, smart home appliances, electric vehicles, micro-grids, backup power systems, and energy efficiency measures – installed on the distribution system or behind a customer’s meter, which can be used to reduce unnecessary energy use and help households and emergency response operations keep electricity flowing in extreme circumstances. 

The new TAEBA white paper, "Future Proofing the Texas Grid With Distributed Energy Resources," outlines how these technologies can be used to make sure food, water, shelter, fuel, and emergency rescue operations can still be provided in extreme situations, like those experienced during Winter Storm Uri in 2021. 

"Some of these advanced energy technologies help prevent blackouts by alleviating demands on the power grid, while other DERs can keep lights on and homes heated or cooled during a blackout," explains TAEBA Executive Director Ignacio Guajardo. "These can be life-saving technologies in extreme weather situations, and also cost-saving technologies year-round." 

The white paper details several success stories of DER use in Texas, and provides policy recommendations for policymakers at ERCOT, PUCT, and the Texas Legislature. Among the policy recommendations are: 

  • Increasing energy efficiency targets and prioritizing electricity savings that will help during emergency events; 
  • Ensuring that DERs are fully compensated by utilities and wholesale markets for all the services they provide to the grid; 
  • Prioritizing DERs and demand response at critical facilities to ensure these facilities can ride through emergency events and continue to provide community services; 
  • Providing funding and pricing and rate structures to promote electric vehicle adoption; and 
  • Allowing aggregations of DERs (known as Virtual Power Plants, or VPPs) to participate in the wholesale markets overseen by ERCOT. 

"In order to make sure these technologies are adopted across Texas, we need to think differently about the way electricity is distributed," added Guajardo. "Electricity no longer needs to work like a one-way street, sent from a power plant to a neighborhood. Power can now be generated, stored, and even shared within a community, reducing dependence on infrastructure which can be disrupted by a major weather event. We need state lawmakers and policymakers to make it easier and cheaper to get these technologies into Texas communities." 

“DERs are already hard at work for Texans,” said Joel Yu, Vice President of Policy at Houston-based Enchanted Rock. “Enchanted Rock has installed hundreds of cost-effective microgrids across Texas that keep the lights on when the grid is down. During Winter Storm Uri, Enchanted Rock microgrids provided 5,000 hours of emergency power to over 140 sites, including critical facilities like grocery stores, hospitals, nursing homes, and water facilities.” 

“DERs can deliver demand flexibility and help maintain much-needed grid reliability during extreme weather events, and as customers continue to purchase and install DERs there will be numerous opportunities to increase their scale and impact,” said Aaron Berndt, Head of Energy Industry Partnerships at Google. “The Texas energy crisis made it clear that regulators and utilities cannot leave anything on the table when it comes to harnessing demand flexibility, especially when DERs are already deployed in people's homes and with the right market conditions could be used to support the grid today.” 

A statewide poll commissioned by TAEBA earlier this year found widespread interest in policies that encourage DER adoption. 76 percent of Texans agreed in the January 2022 survey that individuals or groups should be allowed to provide extra electricity back to the energy grid in times of need and should be paid for the electricity they provide like any other energy source, while only 4 percent disagreed. Additionally, 71 percent of Texans agreed that vehicle owners who send power back to the grid in times of need should be compensated, and only 8 percent disagreed.  

A few Distributed Energy Resource (DER) use cases:

Ahead of Anniversary of Winter Storm Uri, Texans Express Concern About Energy Resilience in New Statewide Survey

February 10, 2022
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

9 in 10 Texans agree that state officials should be doing more to protect the energy grid

AUSTIN, February 10, 2022 – Today the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) released the results of a statewide representative poll about the resilience of the state’s energy system, which found widespread belief among Texans that state officials should be doing more to protect the Texas grid. The survey, commissioned by TAEBA and conducted by YouGov, was fielded from January 26 to February 3, with a margin of error of 3.4 percent.

“On this anniversary of Winter Storm Uri, Texans don’t want to hear promises or assurances that the energy grid is getting better. They want to see solutions,” said Suzanne Bertin, Managing Director of TAEBA. “The majority of Texans are interested in seeing more kinds of innovative technologies that can be used to lower costs and make electricity more reliable.”

83 percent of Texans are concerned about the ability of the Texas power grid to withstand future hurricanes, winter storms, severe drought, and intense heat waves, according to the new poll, with 90 percent agreeing that state officials should do more to harden the grid. When asked if Governor Abbott and other leaders have done enough to address the issues that led to widespread outages during Winter Storm Uri, only 30 percent of Texans agree.

Texans also largely want the state to lean into advanced energy technologies that could help keep the lights on during future crises.

  • 71 percent of Texans agree that the state should be doing more to encourage businesses to build different kinds of energy resources, such as solar, wind, small scale nuclear, and battery storage, with only 12 percent disagreeing.
  • 62 percent of Texans agree that Texas leaders should be investing in programs that encourage people to reduce energy use at critical times to alleviate strain on the grid before building new power plants, with 18 percent disagreeing.
  • 51 percent of Texans agree that increasing the amount of clean energy on the electric grid in Texas will address the failures that occurred in February 2021 during Winter Storm Uri, with only 23 percent disagreeing.

“There are creative, low-cost solutions to Texas’s energy crisis that the state hasn’t yet embraced but are popular among Texans, like technology that allows businesses and households to be paid for sending electricity back to the grid in times of crisis," said Bertin. “We need these kinds of innovative solutions to prevent blackouts in the future, but they are currently being held back by outdated state regulations.”

The full results of the poll of adult residents in Texas can be found here. You can learn more about TAEBA at www.texasadvancedenergy.org.

The survey was conducted among a representative sample of 1,029 Texas adult residents. The survey was fielded online between January 26th and February 3rd, 2022. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as well as 2020 Presidential vote, registration status, geographic region, and news interest. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S registered voters. The weights range from 0.11 to 5.29, with a mean of 1 and a standard deviation of 0.46. The margin of error (a 95 percent confidence interval) for a sample percentage p based upon the entire sample is approximately 3.4 percent.

Texas Legislature Posts Wins for Advanced Energy, But Misses Opportunities to Improve Grid Resilience and Reduce Customer Costs

June 4, 2021
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

AUSTIN, June 4, 2021 — Today the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) recognized legislative wins and some lost opportunities to improve market access for advanced energy resources, as lawmakers sought to address grid resilience issues arising from Winter Storm Uri in February.

“The Texas Legislature took the most comprehensive set of actions related to the electric grid since the major market restructuring it undertook in 1999,” said Suzanne Bertin, managing director for TAEBA. “There were some real wins for advanced energy and the Texas grid, but significant opportunities were missed to strengthen local grid resilience and reliability and reduce customer costs in the wake of winter storm impacts.”

“Generally, the outcomes for advanced energy were net positive, with batteries and non-wires solutions expanded in the ERCOT market, transmission planning reformed, protections for solar and distributed generation customers expanded, and punitive new taxes on electric vehicles avoided,” said Bertin.

“While progress was made, the legislature could have gone further to improve competitive market access for distributed energy resources (DERs) like energy efficiency, storage, solar and electric vehicles,” said Bertin. “And there remains much work left to do as the PUCT and ERCOT implement the bills that did pass.”

TAEBA directly engaged in or monitored well over 200 bills this session* on a wide range of topics affecting advanced energy, which are covered in the blog post “A Stormy Post-Crisis Legislative Session Yields Wins for Advanced Energy in Texas” here.

The two most significant pieces of legislation approved by the legislature were SB 3, an omnibus bill addressing the gas and electricity sectors in response to Winter Storm Uri, and HB 4492, allowing securitization of costs related to the storm. 

TAEBA won passage of bills supporting storage and non-wires solutions (SB 415), exempting EV charging from being considered a retail sale (SB 1202), protecting solar customers (SB 398, which passed with HB 3916 relating to distributed generation appended to it), and reforming transmission planning (see final, compromise version of SB 1281). 

Notably, TAEBA and its allies defeated punitive annual $200 (and $250 for light-duty trucks) registration fees on electric vehicles (SB 1728), unnecessary new regulation of EV charging (SB 839), and assignment of interconnection costs to new generation and battery storage (SB 1282).

But the legislature missed opportunities to strengthen local resilience and reliability through distributed energy resources (DERs) by failing to move bills related to energy efficiency (SB 243), behind-the-meter battery storage (HB 3624), DERs in wholesale markets (SB 1479), and clean energy schools, HB 4120

Following the session, the implementation effort now shifts to rulemaking at the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), which will be expanded to five members from three (SB 2154), and to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which will also see changes from SB 2

Governor Abbott has until June 20 to sign, veto, or allow bills to become law without signature.

*Note: Access bills and regulatory proceedings for all 50 states, on federal level and RTOs/ISOs including ERCOT on PowerSuite, complimentary for credentialed media. Start free trial here and contact monique.hanis@texasadvancedenergy.org to make it permanent.

Background Materials

  • Read “A Stormy Post-Crisis Legislative Session Yields Wins for Advanced Energy in Texas” here.
  • Read “ERCOT Cold-Weather Blackouts Point to the Need for More Advanced Energyhere.
  • Read “In Texas, Tesla Could Be Just the Start of Something Big,” which covers a TAEBA EV supply-chain study here.

About Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. Learn more at texasadvancedenergy.org and follow our latest news @TXAdvEnergyBiz.

Texas Legislature Reforms Transmission Planning to Bolster Reliability of the Power Grid 

April 30, 2021
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Companion House and Senate bills would reform transmission planning at ERCOT to ensure more efficient and effective movement of electric power to meet growing demand and the evolving nature of the Texas power grid

AUSTIN — Today business group Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) applauded House passage of House Bill 1607*, which improves the transmission planning and project review processes in Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to improve electric system reliability in Texas. The House floor vote was 106 to 23. Its companion bill, Senate Bill 1325*, is currently in the Senate Business and Commerce committee.

“House Bill 1607 is one important step of many needed in the evolution of our electricity system to make it more secure, clean, reliable and affordable,” said Suzanne Bertin, managing director of TAEBA. “By reforming transmission policy, the Texas legislature has unleashed a more cost-effective and efficient planning process that can help us prevent future power outages, while bringing additional benefits to Texas consumers, including lower electricity prices.”

“Winter storm Uri demonstrated that the status quo is not adequate,” said Bertin. “HB1607 is a bipartisan measure that would modernize our transmission planning process, produce cost-effective infrastructure, and give Texans the 21st Century power grid they deserve to ensure that customers all over the state have the power they need.”

These companion bills upgrade our grid in the near-term by reforming the transmission planning process, expedite infrastructure already in the planning stages, and reform the current transmission review process to ensure that future transmission planning activities are conducted in a more holistic manner, resulting in a more cost-effective and efficient planning process for all consumers. Additionally, these companion bills will reduce congestion costs (which customers now pay), reduce power line losses (leading to a more efficient grid), and create local tax revenue, new landowner income, and new jobs for Texans.

The bill now moves on to the Senate for consideration.

*Note: Access bills and regulatory proceedings for all 50 states, on federal level and RTOs/ISOs including ERCOT on PowerSuite, complimentary for credentialed media. Start free trial here and contact monique.hanis@texasadvancedenergy.org to make it permanent.

About Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. Learn more at texasadvancedenergy.org and follow our latest news @TXAdvEnergyBiz.

Texas Battery Storage Bill Would Open Competitive Market for Grid Reliability Services, Lower System Costs

March 16, 2021
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

In committee hearings this week for SB415 and companion HB1672, Texas business group praises market-based approach to deploy energy storage for improved grid reliability, and notes opportunities to further reduce other obstacles

AUSTIN — Today Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) announced support for companion Texas Senate and House bills that would establish a competitive procurement process allowing transmission and distribution utilities in the ERCOT region to contract for battery storage services. The Senate Business and Commerce committee takes up Chairman Kelly Hancock’s bill SB415* this morning and its identical companion bill, HB 1672* sponsored by Representative Justin Holland will be heard in the House State Affairs Committee on Thursday.

"The February Winter Weather Crisis has made it abundantly clear that Texans need greater local grid reliability and resilience, and battery storage technology can help provide that,” said Suzanne Bertin, managing director at TAEBA. “Batteries located strategically to support the grid, renewable energy resources and microgids could reduce outages, power community emergency response and reduce costs to consumers.”

Should the bills pass, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) would be required to adopt rules to implement the legislation, so that utilities could procure battery storage services from competitive storage providers to support reliable service to distribution utility customers.

“We applaud the market-based approach and how this bill creates additional options for utilities to address system reliability and resilience with battery storage technology,” said Bertin. “In fact, if this bill had passed last session, it would have stimulated more battery deployment, and utilities could have contracted with providers for a ‘critical resilience service’ to keep circuits up and help with rotating outages.”

“We see opportunities for Texas Legislators to build upon these bills by allowing distributed energy resources (DERs), such as on-site solar, demand response, energy efficiency, electric vehicles (mobile batteries) – or combinations of these technologies – to provide these services to distribution utilities,” said Bertin. “Such on-site and strategically located technologies can also deliver local resilience and reliability value to customers while lowering costs.”

Bertin went on to say that the 40 megawatt (MW) cap included in the bills could unnecessarily limit the ability of utilities to procure these valuable services, and encouraged the Legislature to pass the bills without the cap and leave it to the PUCT’s discretion to determine a limit through the rulemaking process that will be required to implement the bill. Otherwise she was concerned this limit would need to be addressed in a future legislative session.

*Note: Access bills and regulatory proceedings for all 50 states, on federal level and RTOs/ISOs including ERCOT on PowerSuite, complimentary for credentialed media. Start free trial here and contact monique.hanis@texasadvancedenergy.org to make it permanent.

About Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. Learn more at texasadvancedenergy.org and follow our latest news @TXAdvEnergyBiz.

 

Texas Has Growing Electric Vehicle Supply Chain, Ripe for Driving Economic Gains

December 15, 2020
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

More than 5,000 Texas companies and 400,000 Texas workers are in industries that could directly benefit from the growth of electric transportation, report finds

AUSTIN —Today, business group Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) released a new report finding that Texas is well positioned to benefit from the growth of Electric Transportation (ET), which could give the state's economy a significant boost. Already in 2019, the ET sector contributed nearly $690 million to Texas Gross State Product (GSP), equivalent to Convenience Stores and more than twice the economic contribution of Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing. Currently, there are more than 1,200 companies employing over 7,100 workers in 203 Texas counties involved in ET-related business. These ET jobs are expected to nearly double grow to over 13,000 workers, including those in the Tesla factory currently under construction outside of Austin, by 2024. 

The analysis also shows that more than 5,000 Texas companies and over 400,000 Texans are currently in industries that could directly benefit from ET growth.

“Texas has a significant opportunity to capitalize on a growing electric transportation sector to drive economic recovery, securing thousands of well-paying jobs for Texans,” said Suzanne Bertin, managing director at TAEBA. “This report shows that Electric Transportation already has a foothold in Texas and could contribute to a vibrant, diverse innovative sector, providing business and job gains across the state, including counties and industries that have lost jobs in recent years.”

“Fostering the Electric Transportation supply chain in Texas can drive growth in related industries, ensuring that Texas – and Texans – will lead the innovation economy of the future,” said Bertin.

“Electric Transportation Supply Chain in Texas,” prepared for TAEBA by BW Research Partnership, a global leader in workforce and economic development research, can be found here.

There are many fundamental drivers behind transportation electrification – falling purchase prices, rapidly improving technology, conversion of commercial fleets, and consumer desire for vehicles that are cleaner and cheaper to fuel and maintain, as well as fun to drive. These factors, together with recent investment in the state, namely the Tesla factory now under construction in Travis County, indicate that companies are increasingly interested in bringing electric transportation supply chain operations to Texas. As not only consumers but municipalities and private-sector companies turn to electric vehicles, there will be significant growth in the supply chain for these vehicles.

“To prepare for the approaching tidal wave of electric trucks, our team developed a custom tool using data from the Texas Demographics Center to map current and anticipated electric demand,” said David Treichler, Director, Strategy and Emerging Issues Team at Oncor. "This is critical to our work planning for our customers' needs as they electrify their fleets."

“Texas is well poised to realize the benefits of EV technology. We expect continued adoption in the state, just as we’re seeing across the country. Our success in Texas is leading us to increase our workforce in the state to sell and service our trucks in more locations. This expansion from Orange EV as well as others in the space will enable operations in the state to prosper and compete, and, of course, lead to improved air quality,” said Wayne Mathisen, CEO Orange EV, a manufacturer of heavy-duty electric trucks based in Missouri.

“With the right policies in place, Texas has tremendous opportunity to scale its EV and EVSE supply chains to unlock job growth and economic development across the state,” said Tom Ashley, Vice President of Policy and Market Development, Greenlots. “Greenlots is committed to helping build the market for transportation electrification in Texas and we look forward to working collaboratively to ensure this industry develops in a way that prioritizes equitable access and shared benefits for all Texans.”

Key findings of the report include:

  • ET activity contributed nearly $690 million to Gross State Product (GSP) in 2019, equivalent to the GSP contributions of Convenience Stores and more than twice that of Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing.
  • 7,100 Texas workers currently participate in ET-related business, mostly in manufacturing, working in 1,234 businesses in 203 of Texas’s 254 counties.
  • By 2024, a projected 13,500 workers in Texas will be involved in ET, including the Tesla factory currently under construction outside of Austin, which will add an estimated 5,000 ET jobs.
  • While population centers have the greatest number of ET workers, ET workers make up a greater share of the labor force in some suburban and rural counties, including Titus, Cook, Lamar, Calhoun, and Dallam Counties
  • There are more than 29,000 workers in industries with skill sets similar to those needed for ET manufacturing, and these industries lost 900 jobs statewide between 2014 and 2019. As such, there is a substantial workforce that could find new opportunities in a growing ET sector with relatively little training.
  • Another 89,000 workers are in industries that would require only short-term training or reskilling to transition to ET manufacturing roles.
  • More than a quarter of a million (275,800) workers are in industries that support electric transportation manufacturing. Demand for workers in these industries will grow as ET business activity increases. 
  • Counting the 33,400 now working in traditional auto and auto-parts manufacturing, many of whom would continue to participate in electric vehicle (EV) production, more than 5,000 companies and over 400,000 Texans total are currently a part of industries that could directly benefit from ET growth.

“Governor Abbott has fostered a strong pro-business environment, attracting a number of high-tech and Fortune 500 companies and their jobs to the Lone Star State,” said Bertin. “Given many of these companies seek cleaner fleets and that demand for  electric transportation options is growing across the U.S. and globally, we have an enormous opportunity to ensure Texas plays a big role in this innovative industry, driving private investment, generating economic growth, and securing tens of thousands of jobs for Texans.” 

About Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. Learn more at texasadvancedenergy.org and follow our latest news @TXAdvEnergyBiz.


REPORT: Stimulus Investments in Advanced Energy Would Deliver More Than $350 Billion to Texas Economy

October 13, 2020
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Analysis shows $55 billion in stimulus would add $350 billion to Texas gross state product, a six-fold return on investment; increase tax revenues; create 2 million jobs; and deliver billions in annual savings to consumers

AUSTIN, October 13, 2020 – Today, business group Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) released results of a report that quantified significant economic benefits associated with investments in advanced energy deployment for the state of Texas. The report, which was produced by international economics consultant Analysis Group for TAEBA, used an industry-standard modeling tool to estimate the impact of investing federal or state stimulus funds in advanced energy technologies, products, and services to boost economic activity in the wake of the COVID-19 slowdown. 

The full report “Economic Impact of Stimulus Investment in Advanced Energy: An economic assessment of applying stimulus funds to advanced energy technologies, products, and services in Texas,” is available here

“As Texas looks for high-impact ways to recover from the economic devastation of the coronavirus health crisis, this report shows investment in advanced energy would deliver a six-fold return to our state economy,” said Suzanne Bertin, Managing Director at Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance. “Such public stimulus attracts billions of dollars in private investment; creates millions of in-state jobs, increases much-needed state and local tax revenues and saves consumers — commercial and residential alike — billions annually.”

“Leveraging Texas’ leadership in energy and our competitive market structure, investments in energy efficiency, solar, wind, and storage technologies, high-voltage transmission infrastructure, and electric transportation can generate significant economic activity across the state, priming the pump for further growth,” added Bertin.

Specifically, the report shows that a hypothetical investment of $55 billion of public investment in Texas, allocated across a range of advanced energy technologies, would produce the following economic benefits:

  • Adding a total of $350 billion to Texas’ economy (Gross State Product), a more than a six-fold return on investment.
  • Attracting $134 billion in complementary private investment, a contributor to GSP impact above.
  • Creating 2.2 million new jobs, measured in job-years, resulting in a mix of short-term construction or installation employment along with ongoing positions;
  • Increasing tax revenues by $18 billion to local and state governments; and,
  • Saving consumers over $14 billion in energy costs annually.

The report found that energy efficiency investments delivered the greatest overall boost to the Texas economy, totaling $208 billion in Gross State Product, and the most jobs (1.1 million job-years). The next biggest impact came from renewable energy generation (both solar and wind), totaling $65 billion, and 433,000 jobs. Investments in electric transportation – electric vehicles and associated charging infrastructure – would contribute $37 billion in economic activity and create 311,000 jobs. Building electrification adds $20 billion and 189,000 jobs. 

In terms of consumer savings, energy efficiency investments produced the greatest benefits. For residential customers, energy efficiency would save $9 billion per year and rooftop solar $1 billion annually. Commercial and industrial customers would save nearly $4 billion per year from energy efficiency upgrades and onsite solar. Switching from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric would save drivers $1 billion a year in fuel costs.

The report notes that a greater or lesser level of stimulus investment would result in greater or lesser economic impact, but the modeling shows that advanced energy stimulus investments can generate a return on investment on the order of six times the level of public expenditure for the state of Texas. 

“With more than 254,000 employed in this growth sector and an established in-state supply chain supported by a broad range of companies, Texas can count on advanced energy as a reliable economic driver for years to come as we grow our abundant homegrown resources for making the energy we use secure, clean, reliable, and affordable,” said Bertin.

TAEBA’s 2020 Texas Jobs fact sheet shows there were 254,300 workers employed in Texas’ advanced energy industry in 2019, more than those working in real estate and three times those in chemical manufacturing. The sector experienced strong 4% jobs growth last year, twice the state’s overall jobs growth rate, and employers reported they expected a substantial 5% increase in jobs before COVID-19 hit*.

*NOTE: Employment data was derived from the 2020 U.S. Energy and Employment Report produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in association with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and collected and analyzed by BW Research Partnership, as well as data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. Learn more at texasadvancedenergy.org and follow our latest news @TXAdvEnergyBiz.


More Texans Work in Advanced Energy than in Real Estate; Triple Those in Chemical Manufacturing, with Growth Expected Prior to COVID-19

July 30, 2020
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

With faster job growth than state average last year and more growth predicted before pandemic hit, advanced energy could drive
economic recovery in Texas

AUSTIN — Today, business group Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) released a fact sheet showing that Texas had 254,300 people working in advanced energy as of 2019. This represented more workers than those in Real Estate (231,031), and more than triple those working in Chemical Manufacturing (83,470) across the Lone Star State.

Advanced energy employment grew at nearly twice the rate of Texas jobs overall from 2018 to 2019 (4% versus 2%) and employers expected to add another 5% to their headcount in 2020, when surveyed last fall. Although hard hit by the coronavirus public health crisis, like many other industries, the track record of job growth and optimism of employers for future growth suggest that the advanced energy industry could help to drive the economic recovery in Texas.

“Texas has been a leader in advanced energy technologies like solar and wind generation and energy storage, but people may not realize that this industry is bigger than traditional businesses like real estate and chemical manufacturing in the state,” said Suzanne Bertin, Managing Director, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance. “With above-average job growth in the past and more expected coming into this year, advanced energy should play a big role in our state’s economic recovery from the impact of the coronavirus.”

The Texas advanced energy industry lost an estimated 10% of its workforce, or 25,000 jobs, since the pandemic struck in March, before regaining an estimated 8,000 jobs in June, for a 4% employment rebound.

“The advanced energy industry is resilient and is prepared to bounce back and lead the economic recovery, as long as Texas continues to capitalize on the state’s competitive energy market to facilitate investment in secure, clean, reliable, affordable advanced energy,” added Bertin.

               

Key Texas 2019 advanced energy employment details:

  • Energy Efficiency led all advanced energy segments, with 169,400 jobs, most involved in EnergySTAR products, efficient lighting, and HVAC, showing 4% growth over 2018.
  • Advanced Electricity Generation, including solar, wind, and natural gas, supported 48,800 jobs, with solar jobs increasing 7%.
  • Advanced Vehicles employed 17,300 workers in hybrid, electric, natural gas and fuel-cell vehicles, though jobs were down 3% in 2019, following 16% growth in 2018.
  • Advanced Grid & Energy Storage added 5%, reaching 13,200 jobs overall, with microgrid jobs increasing 11%.
  • Overall, advanced energy jobs grew nearly 4% in 2019 over 2018 levels.
  • Employers expected strong 5% jobs growth this year, in a survey conducted last fall, prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Top 5 counties for these jobs were: Harris (61,300), Dallas (37,500), Travis (18,400), Tarrant (16,700) and Bexar (15,600).

TAEBA members have engaged with policymakers on ways to reduce barriers in the state’s competitive energy market to ensure that advanced energy technologies can contribute to the power system. A recent report showed that distributed advanced energy resources, serving as alternatives to costly transmission and distribution upgrades and reducing electricity demand during peak usage periods, could save Texans more than $5 billion over the next decade.

“Distributed energy resources are the next frontier in energy technology, and policies that bring them into Texas energy markets will increase competition, provide savings for customers, and create Texas jobs,” added Bertin.

The 2019 data for the Texas employment fact sheet was derived from the 2020 U.S. Energy and Employment Report produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in association with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and collected and analyzed by BW Research Partnership, as well as data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. Learn more at texasadvancedenergy.org and follow our latest news @TXAdvEnergyBiz.

 

Texas Electricity Customers Could Save More Than $5 Billion Over Next 10 Years With Distributed Energy Resources

Nov. 13, 2019
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Incorporating distributed resources like solar, energy storage, efficiency, and electric vehicles into system planning and wholesale markets could reduce transmission and distribution, peak electric power costs.

AUSTIN — Today, business group Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) released a new report that shows electricity customers across the state could save $5.47 billion by using distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar energy, energy storage, efficiency, and electric vehicles to reduce the need for more costly peak power generation and transmission and distribution investments. The report quantifies the value of integrating DERs into transmission and distribution planning and allowing them to participate in existing wholesale markets.

The new report, “The Value of Integrating Distributed Energy Resources in Texas,” produced for TAEBA by Demand Side Analytics, can be downloaded here.

“We are already a national leader in advanced energy, but Texans would get much more value from better integrating distributed energy resources into our grid and wholesale markets,“ said Suzanne Bertin, Managing Director, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance. “This report demonstrates that by allowing resources like solar, storage, and efficiency to compete, Texas could save customers more than $5 billion over the next decade.”

In recent years, DER technologies have emerged as new ways to produce power, manage electricity demand, and provide valuable grid services. These resources are smaller, flexible, located within load centers, typically connect to the distribution grid, and are capable of easing demand on the grid by injecting power locally or reducing demand.

DERs include a broad range of technologies – including distributed solar, battery storage, thermal storage, customer-owned generation, connected devices such as smart thermostats, electric vehicles, demand response, and energy efficiency. The practice of using DERs as a more cost-effective replacement for traditional utility infrastructure investment is known as non-wires solutions.  Today’s regulatory practices do not currently provide an opportunity for providers of DERs to compete to provide non-wires solutions in Texas.

Highlights of key findings:

  • The adoption of DERs is expanding at a rapid pace and represents a significant resource that is, for the most part, not directly incorporated into the ERCOT energy market supply stack.
  • Transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure expansion due to peak load growth can be reduced, deferred, or avoided by DERs that either inject power locally or reduce demand (“non-wires solutions”).
  • By prolonging the use of existing, functional T&D infrastructure by integrating DERs, Texas customers can save up to $2.45 billion over 10 years.
  • Adding 1,000 MW of DER resources that deliver during critical peak demand hours can decrease electricity costs for Texas consumers by $3.02 billion over 10 years.
  • In total, better integrating DERs into the Texas grid can save Texans $5.47 billion over 10 years.

“As Texas leaders look to meet the state’s growing energy needs to make our power system more resilient and reliable at the lowest cost, we need to employ all competitive resources — and that includes distributed energy resources,” Bertin said. “We have the technologies today. We just need to let them compete.”

Background Resources (updated Mar. 12, 2020):

About the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. Learn more at texasadvancedenergy.org and follow our latest news @TXAdvEnergyBiz.

Media Contact
Monique Hanis, monique.hanis@texasadvancedenergy.org, 202-236-8220

Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance Applauds the Public Utility Commission of Texas for Affirming Its Commitment to Promoting Competition and Customer Choice

Jan. 17, 2019
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

PUCT upholds long-standing policy that averages electricity system pricing equally across state. Also today, the commission opened up a proceeding to evaluate how to prepare for the growing electric vehicle market, which TAEBA supports.

AUSTIN — Today, the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance applauded the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) for deciding to uphold a long-standing policy that averages electricity system transmission losses, sharing costs equally among energy generators, throughout the state. The current policy has allowed consumers in population centers such as Houston and the DFW metroplex to access lower cost wind and solar energy produced in rural West Texas. Reversing this policy, as proposed by NRG and Calpine, would have raised costs to consumers.

“We Texans are lucky to have been blessed with abundant natural resources. Besides the oil and natural gas resources that have deeply influenced our global energy economy for more than a century, Texas also has been blessed with some of the best wind and solar potential as compared to elsewhere in the country, and we should take advantage of the opportunities that these resources bring to the state to continue our leadership in energy,” said Suzanne Bertin, executive director of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance.  

As of 2018, Texas was number one in installed wind capacity, with more than 22.5 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity – more than three times greater than the number two state, according to data from the Electricity Markets Policy Group at Berkeley Lab. Texas also ranks fifth in the nation in installed solar capacity, with more than 2.6 GW already installed, as reported by the Solar Energy Industries Association, and more than 31 GW that have requested interconnection, according to ERCOT’s Sept. GIS Report. Of the more than 233,000 advanced energy jobs in Texas, a quarter of those are in advanced electricity generation and the grid technologies that integrate with generation to make the system more efficient and reliable.

“Strong wind and solar energy resource availability in Texas, coupled with the state’s competitive retail market, have been an important source of economic development, with Texas emerging as a clear leader for corporate renewable energy procurement,” added Bertin. “As this market continues to grow, Texas is poised to continue its leadership position.”

Large businesses increasingly seek wind, solar and other advanced energy resources to meet their energy needs, driven by opportunities for cost savings and cost certainty, and a desire to meet the expectations of their investors, employees, customers, and other key stakeholders with respect to sustainability. As of March 2018, Texas projects accounted for a full 27% of all corporate renewable energy contracts — with more than double the number of projects as the next leading state, according to Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).

Since 2013, customers have voluntarily purchased over 13 GW of offsite renewable energy across the country. Over the past five years, annual purchases have increased by over 1000%, from just 0.32 GW in 2013 to 3.86 GW to date in 2018, per RMI data.

Additionally today, the PUCT announced its decision to open up a new proceeding to evaluate how to prepare for the growing electric vehicle market, including planning for distribution system needs. The PUCT noted this was in anticipation of a number of related issues that may need to be addressed by the legislature in 2021.

“We were also very pleased to see Chairman Walker and the commissioners move forward proactively to get ready for the growing electric vehicle market,” said Bertin. “This is a very positive development for Texans and our industry.”

About the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. In Texas, the advanced energy industry produces more than $16 billion in annual revenue and employs more than 233,000 Texans. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resilience, and economic growth in the state of Texas. Learn more at texasadvancedenergy.org and follow our latest news @TXAdvEnergyBiz.

Media Contact
Monique Hanis, monique.hanis@texasadvancedenergy.org, 202-236-8220

 

More Texas Workers in Advanced Energy than in Mining, Oil & Gas; Double Those Working at Auto Dealers — 7% Growth Expected in 2018

Sep 25, 2018
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Reducing market barriers could expand use of secure, clean, reliable and affordable energy resources, while growing the state’s economy and its 233,000 advanced energy jobs

AUSTIN — Today, business group Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) released a fact sheet showing that Texas has 233,000 people working in advanced energy. This represents more workers than those in Mining, Oil & Gas (231,364), and about double those working at Auto Dealers (118,353) across the Lone Star state. The U.S. employs a total 3.4 million people in advanced energy jobs across the nation.

“Texas is universally recognized as an energy industry leader, but most people don’t realize that advanced energy sector jobs have now surpassed those in traditional energy technologies and are expected to grow 7% this year,“ said Suzanne Bertin, Executive Director, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance. “With more than 233,000 advanced energy workers, employed across the state in all 254 Texas counties, our leaders have an opportunity to capitalize on the state’s competitive energy market to create even more jobs by continuing to invest in secure, clean, reliable, and affordable energy.”

Key Texas employment details:

  • Energy Efficiency led all advanced energy segments, with 154,600 jobs.
  • Advanced Electricity Generation, including wind, natural gas, and solar, supports 44,200 jobs.
  • Strong 7% jobs growth expected this year by employers.
  • Top 5 counties are: Harris (57,500), Dallas (35,200), Travis (17,700), Tarrant (15,500) and Bexar (15,300), with all 254 Texas counties employing advanced energy workers.

TAEBA members have engaged with policymakers on ways to reduce market barriers in the state’s competitive energy market to ensure advanced energy technologies contribute to the power system.

“Texas advanced energy contributes to our strong competitive energy market model, and we should ensure that non-traditional technologies are allowed to compete to strengthen our grid and electricity system, while reducing costs,” added Bertin.

The employment figures were derived from analysis by AEE and BW Research Partnership of data from the 2018 U.S. Energy and Employment Report published by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) earlier this year, as well as data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. Learn more at texasadvancedenergy.org and follow our latest news @TXAdvEnergyBiz.

Media Contact
Monique Hanis, monique.hanis@texasadvancedenergy.org, 202-391-0884

 

Texas Decision Enhances Customer Choice of Advanced Energy Providers

May 10, 2018
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Businesses and stakeholder groups applaud Public Utility Commission of Texas for approving Smart Meter Texas settlement agreement that will streamline customer tool for choosing advanced energy management tools

AUSTIN – Today, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved recommended improvements to streamline the Smart Meter Texas (SMT) portal* at the Commission’s Open Meeting. A diverse group of stakeholders, including Mission:data Coalition, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) and EnerNOC, filed a unanimous settlement agreement* with the PUCT on Jan. 29 detailing SMT improvements.

Implementation of the approved changes will make it easier for customers in competitive electricity areas of Texas to choose energy management providers for services such as energy efficiency, demand response, distributed generation, and other energy software products and services. Under the settlement agreement, these “competitive service providers” (CSPs) are not considered retail electric providers — which get more revenue when customers use more electricity — but rather are companies that specialize in providing services to help customers better manage how much energy they use, when they use it, and how much they spend on their monthly bills. 

“Energy data by itself is not helpful to most customers, but when energy experts can interpret that data and provide concrete actions customers can take to change their electricity use — that results in real dollars saved by customers,” said Suzanne Bertin, Executive Director of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), a business association of advanced energy companies in Texas. “Those energy savings instead can be spent on other products and services in the Texas economy. All of us who were involved appreciate PUCT’s approval of this settlement, which will make this data easier for customers to obtain and put to work and save them money.”

Historically, Texas has been at the vanguard of electricity competition and was one of the first states to deploy advanced meters in 2008, with the Smart Meter Texas portal being a feature unique to Texas. The SMT portal provides a way for customers to download and view their own energy data or share it with companies that can help interpret the data and suggest actions to save money. 

As originally designed, the SMT portal has been difficult for customers to use, resulting in very few taking advantage of the system. The improved SMT access resulting from this settlement agreement will allow customers to opt-in to data sharing with their chosen competitive providers with a simple and secure one-click email consent. 

With this decision, Texas will be updating the Smart Meter Texas portal to be more in line with national standards such as Green Button, which provides a standardized data format for software developers to develop application programming interfaces (APIs) with the system. Standardization will promote new business development in the state as advanced energy companies offer new products and services to help customers manage their energy use.   

"We've seen that customers are discouraged from enrolling in programs with unnecessarily time-intensive, complex, and complicated steps,” said Laura Kier, Senior Associate, Market Operations, at EnergyHub, a residential demand response and grid services provider. “This more streamlined process for Smart Meter Texas is crucial to creating a positive customer experience, and one that encourages customers take advantage of new energy services." 

“EnerNOC, an Enel Group Company, has been unlocking value to its commercial and industrial customers while contributing toward grid reliability through participation in ERCOT’s Emergency Response Services (ERS) for years,” said Mona Tierney-Lloyd, Sr. Director, Western Regulatory Affairs, EnerNOC. “Now, our customers can get the information they want and the services they need much more easily.” 

”The settlement agreement is part of a nationwide trend toward increasing usability of utility-controlled websites,” said Michael Murray, President of Mission:data Coalition, a non-profit. “For several years the law in Texas has provided customers with rights to access their energy data, but exercising those rights in practice has been difficult. This agreement remedies that, and we applaud the PUCT for approving the settlement.”

*Note: SMT docket and documents can be accessed via AEE’s PowerSuite tool via trial access. Credentialed media may contact mhanis@texasadvanedenergy.org, for permanent complimentary access. 

Background Resources:

  • SMT Settlement Agreement filed Jan. 29 is here
  • TAEBA Policy Priority: Empowering Customers with Energy Data is here.
  • Access to Data: Bringing the Electricity Grid into the Information Age, an AEE issue brief is here.

 


 

REPORT: Advanced Energy Industry Employs 143,000 workers in Texas, With Employment Expected to Increase 7 Percent This Year

May 10, 2016
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Accounting for more than 1 percent of the state workforce, advanced energy supports more jobs in Texas than chemical manufacturing and petroleum refining, twice as many as airlines

AUSTIN – Employment in Texas’s advanced energy industry stands at an estimated 143,023 workers. That’s more people than are employed in chemical manufacturing and petroleum refining, twice as many as employed by airlines, and nearly as many working in building construction in the Lone Star State. Employers engaged in advanced energy business expect to increase their workforce by 7 percent this year, which would bring Texas’s advanced energy industry to over 152,000 jobs.

These are some of the findings of Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas, a new report released today by the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA).

 

employment-industry-tx.jpg

“Advanced energy is a large and growing industry in Texas, and it’s paying off in real jobs for Texans,” said Suzanne Bertin, Executive Director of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), a business association of advanced energy companies in Texas. “The reliability and cost benefits of advanced energy technologies are driving growth in the industry, and employers expect to add jobs in the coming year. That’s good news for our companies and for the Texas economy.”

A new Energy Employment Index, produced by BW Research Partnership, makes it possible to quantify jobs in the advanced energy industry for the first time. The Index is based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a detailed survey of more than 20,000 businesses nationwide conducted between September and November of 2015. The Index is the basis for the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s first annual U.S. Energy and Employment Report, which was published in March.

For TAEBA, BW Research Partnership was able to draw on the Index, which covers employment in the entire energy industry, to quantify the jobs directly associated with advanced energy in the state of Texas. 

In this report, advanced energy employees are defined as full-time and part-time permanent employees of businesses that are engaged in making or deploying advanced energy products and services for all or a portion of their revenue, and who themselves support the advanced energy portion of these businesses.

Advanced energy workers are those who spend some or all of their time on advanced energy work such as energy efficiency, advanced electricity generation (including wind, solar, and natural gas), biofuels, advanced grid technology, and advanced vehicles.

The report also illustrates the variety of jobs with eight profiles of Texas advanced energy workers.

“Working in the solar industry was the number-one draw for me,” said Robyn Kenkel of Sunnova Energy Corp. in Houston, one of the workers profiled. “It’s rare that you have an opportunity to be part of something so innovative and transformational.”

The TAEBA jobs report follows Advanced Energy in Texas, published last year, a market report that found advanced energy represented a $16 billion industry in Texas.

Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas is available at http://www.texasadvancedenergy.org/ 

Findings of Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas 2016, prepared by BW Research Partnership, include: 

EMPLOYEES

  • Advanced energy employed an estimated 143,023 Texans in 2015.
  • Workers engaged in advanced energy make up 1 percent of the state workforce overall.
  • Employers surveyed expect to add an estimated 9,334 new jobs this year, an increase of almost 7 percent, which would bring advanced energy employment to over 152,000.
  • The largest share of advanced energy jobs is in energy efficiency – 51 percent, or about 73,000 workers.
  • At nearly 39,000 workers, employment in Texas advanced electricity generation, makes up 27 percent of the advanced energy workforce.
    • Wind accounts for about 44 percent of these jobs, solar 28 percent, and advanced natural gas 16 percent.
  • Texas is also home to a significant advanced fuels industry, with an estimated 9,500 workers in total, the majority of whom work on corn ethanol.
  • Advanced Transportation employs 19,000 workers (13 percent of total advanced energy employment) who spend some or all of their time on hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and natural gas vehicles.
  • Texas’s advanced energy workforce is predominantly male (78 percent); 43 percent of advanced energy workers in Texas are racial or ethnic minorities, with the share of last year’s hires significantly higher (53 percent).
  • One in 10 advanced energy workers in Texas are Veterans. 

EMPLOYERS

  • Texas has nearly 15,000 companies engaged in advanced energy as part or all of their business activity.
  • Texas advanced energy industry is primarily composed of small businesses. Three-quarters of advanced energy businesses employ 24 permanent employees or less. But Texas has a sizeable share of medium-sized firms as well – 15 percent of advanced energy businesses employ between 25 and 249 workers, indicating the advanced energy economy is mature enough to support larger firms.

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About the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. For more information, visit texasadvancedenergy.org.

Media Contacts

Monique Hanis, monique.hanis@texasadvancedenergy.org, 202-391-0884

 


 

Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance Appoints Suzanne Bertin as Executive Director

February 4, 2016
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

Industry group seeks to grow $16 billion market in state

AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) announced the appointment of Suzanne Bertin, a seasoned Texas energy business and regulatory expert, to lead the business group as its Executive Director. TAEBA members include local and national companies that represent the vibrant and growing advanced energy industry in Texas.

According to an analysis by Navigant Research published last March, Texas advanced energy revenue reached $16 billion in 2014, representing 8 percent of the total U.S. market for advanced energy technologies and products – enough to buy the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL’s most valuable franchise, five times over.

"The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance is lucky to have found Suzanne Bertin to lead a broad range of stakeholders that see great opportunity for industry growth and impact in our state," said John Ashe, Director, CLEAResult, a leader in designing and implementing technology-enabled energy efficiency programs for utilities, headquartered in Austin. "Texas has the pro-business, pro-growth spirit to make the most of this opportunity to lead in energy innovation, service options and savings for energy clients in Texas and beyond."

"We are thrilled to have Suzanne Bertin leading our efforts to build a strong industry presence in Texas," said Todd Horsman, Vice President, Regulatory and Delivery for Landis + Gyr, a global leader in energy management solutions, including electricity metering and smart grid services. "New technologies and business models are fundamentally changing the way we make, manage, and use energy - we could not have found a better leader to ensure Texas gets its fair share of this high-growth market, along with the investment and jobs that come with it."


"The Texas solar market is booming and, with Suzanne Bertin on board, TAEBA is positioned to help us accelerate this growth, along with all advanced energy technologies," said Colin Meehan, Director, Regulatory & Public Affairs, First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR), the largest U.S. based manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) panels, with several major projects in Texas. "As our member companies grow, so does the Texas economy, creating jobs and contributing toward prosperity for all Texans."

“I’m thrilled to support the growing advanced energy industry in Texas,” said Bertin. “Texas has enviable resources and the opportunity to expand and diversify our energy market, creating jobs and economic growth, while improving reliability and resiliency of our energy infrastructure. TAEBA is made up of great companies that can make this happen.”

Prior to joining TAEBA, Bertin handled regulatory and government affairs in Texas and the Southeast for EnerNOC, a leading provider of cloud-based energy intelligence software and services to thousands of enterprise customers and utilities globally. In that role, she was an active member of TAEBA and worked with other companies to launch the organization. Before EnerNOC, Bertin was at Reliant (NRG) for more than a decade, where she worked on a wide range of wholesale and retail legislative and regulatory issues, from the inception of the competitive retail market in ERCOT. In these roles, she had direct business and policy experience relating to advanced energy technologies including energy efficiency, demand response, natural gas, solar, wind, electric vehicles, and smart grid. 

Bertin worked in the Office of Policy Development at the Public Utility Commission of Texas during the late 1990s, when the ERCOT competitive retail market was established by Texas Senate Bill 7. Suzanne co-led the team responsible for implementing the transition to competition, which encompassed more than 40 regulatory proceedings, many of which were highly complex and contentious. She previously held electrical engineering positions at Austin Energy and at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.   

Bertin earned her Master of Public Affairs degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts (Managerial Studies), both from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Bertin is a lifelong Texan and resides in Austin.

About the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. For more information, visit texasadvancedenergy.org.

Media Contact

Monique Hanis, monique.hanis@texasadvancedenergy.org, 202-391-0884

 


 

Report: Texas’s Advanced Energy Market Estimated at $16B in Revenue – Enough to Buy Dallas Cowboys Five Times Over

March 11, 2015
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

At $5.5B, Building Efficiency is Largest Market Segment; Wind, Natural Gas, other Electricity Generation Technologies Next Largest at $3.6B

AUSTIN – The advanced energy industry is a powerful economic driver in Texas, with an estimated $16 billion in 2014 revenue, according to the first comprehensive analysis of the advanced energy market in the state. Representing 8 percent of the total U.S. market for advanced energy technologies and products, Texas advanced energy revenue of $16 billion would be enough to buy the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL’s most valuable franchise, five times over.

The report, Advanced Energy in Texas, is available for download at texasadvancedenergy.org.

Advanced Energy in Texas was commissioned by the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), a new group on the Texas scene. TAEBA is made up of local and national advanced energy companies doing business in Texas and helping the Lone Star State meet its energy challenges. A complete list of companies participating in TAEBA is available at texasadvancedenergy.org.

Though well known as the center of the traditional oil and gas industry, Texas is also home to a growing advanced energy industry in areas such as wind and solar energy, natural gas electricity generation, and energy efficiency measures that save money for building owners and manufacturers. 

The report gives much of the credit for advanced energy growth in Texas to the state’s pro-business, pro-growth spirit combined with deliberate policy structures, including renewable energy and energy efficiency standards, as well as the nation’s most open and competitive market for energy resources, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Advanced energy is defined as a broad category of technologies and products, and it is made up of seven major segments. In Texas, building efficiency is the largest segment, with $5.4 billion in revenue in 2014. Products and services such as building efficiency improvements, efficient lighting, high efficiency HVAC equipment, and demand response are significant contributors to this segment of the industry. The second largest segment, at $3.6 billion in 2014, is made up of advanced electricity generation technologies such as wind, solar, and natural gas.

Other findings include:

  • Electricity Generation: With $3.6 billion in revenue, electricity generation (such as wind, natural gas, solar, geothermal, biomass, etc.) is the second leading advanced energy segment in the state.
  • Fuel Production: Advanced fuels, including compressed and liquefied natural gas for vehicles, make up Texas’s third largest advanced energy segment, with $2.7B in revenue.
  • Natural gas vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and the fueling infrastructure that supports them contributed to $2.3 billion in advanced Transportation revenue in Texas.
  • Wind: Texas has more than 14 GW of wind power – twice the capacity of California – with an additional 10 GW of wind in the pipeline.
  • Natural Gas: With nearly 70 GW of capacity currently, Texas natural gas power generation is projected to fulfill over 4.5 GW of growth over the next two to three years.
  • Energy Storage: With potential to end a range of electricity system problems and inefficiencies – fluctuating demand, idle capacity, variable resources, minute-to-minute frequency control – and steep cost reductions anticipated, energy storage is now within reach.

“Advanced energy is alive and well in Texas,” said Susan Reilly, president of Renewable Energy Systems Americas, Inc. (RES Americas), and current chair of the American Wind Energy Association. RES Americas and its many Texas projects are profiled in the report. “Texas is the nation’s leader in wind energy, today and going forward – just look at what’s in the pipeline. RES Americas is proud of the wind and solar installations we’ve worked on in Texas and we look forward to many more in the future.”

“Solar is taking off in Texas,” said Jim Hughes, CEO of First Solar, a global provider of photovoltaic solar energy solutions. “Our Barilla Solar project is the first solar power plant in the country to offer electricity on an open contract basis, and it illustrates how solar has become a reliable, competitively priced component in the state’s balanced energy portfolio. We see an enormous growth opportunity for solar in Texas.” Along with the Barilla power plant, First Solar has several other projects in various stages of development in Texas.

“CLEAResult is tapped into Texas’ energy market—not only because we’re headquartered in Austin—because we’ve run close to 20,000 projects across the state since 2006 that have delivered significant energy and incentive impacts. The appetite for energy efficiency is here,” said Michele Negley, vice president of the south region for CLEAResult, an energy efficiency consulting firm. (A CLEAResult employee was interviewed for the report.) “Energy efficiency is a powerful tool for economic growth and diversification of resources. Our research as well as TAEBA’s report, indicate there is great potential to help utilities, businesses and individual Texans save money and improve comfort by making the wise use of energy a way of life.”

About the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance

The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system more secure, clean, reliable and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public about the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. For more information, visit texasadvancedenergy.org.

About Navigant Research

Navigant Research, a part of Navigant Consulting’s Energy Practice, is a market research and advisory group that provides in-depth analysis of global clean technology markets with a specific focus on the commercialization and market growth opportunities for emerging energy technologies. Navigant is focused across four research programs: Energy Technologies, Utility Transformations, Transportation Efficiencies, and Building Innovations. For more information, visit navigantresearch.com.


New Project Media: Analysts and Developers Agree: Distributed Energy is the Future in the Southeast 

June 26, 2020
Andrew Burnes

Over in Texas, the managing director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) Suzanne Bertin is making the same point. Citing an AEE study into the potential savings of deferring transmission and distribution costs, a nagging issue for large states like Texas, Bertin sees DERs, specifically more condensed wind and solar projects, as the next frontier for renewable project development in the state.

“What we’re talking about is really moving from having a few really big power plants to a whole bunch of tiny power plants,” Bertin told New Project Media. “It cuts down on costs related to transmission and distribution because you’re not having to deliver it as far. Being able to locate a whole bunch of smaller units where the energy is being consumed is a more efficient way to do it."

Read the full article here (Subscription Required).


New Project Media: With Texas Peak Coming, Renewables and Storage will be Key – TAEBA's Bertin says

June 17, 2020
Andrew Burnes

As Texas begins a summer season that has already seen temperatures rise into triple digits, some analysts, business owners and residents across the state have become increasingly concerned about the grid operators at ERCOT’s ability to cope with a projected record high peak demand in August following the COVID-related slowdowns that have affected energy projects under construction across the state. However, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) Managing Director Suzanne Bertin remains confident that the grid will be able to cope with the increased demand. “We expect the grid to handle this summer’s demand based on ERCOT’s Resource Adequacy Report, meeting peak load of 75.2 GW with a reserve margin of 12.6 percent,” Bertin said.

According to Bertin, the key to meeting this demand is the increase of renewable resources, particularly wind, over the last year to raise the reserve margin to a comfortable level. Wind energy makes up 26 percent of Texas’ energy generation, up from 20 percent last year thanks to nearly a GW of new additions in the last three quarters. Bertin says that the state “also has a lot more solar in the development queue,” and says that ERCOT’s demand response tools may come into play this summer as they did last year.

Read the full article here (subscription required).



Energy News Network:
Energy Storage is a Game-Changer for Texas 

May 11, 2020
Matt Welch and Suzanne Bertin

"The phrases “turning winds” and a “a new sun rising” are often used to describe change, and these metaphors could not be more appropriate in describing our energy system today, as the wind and sun themselves are driving the transformation. Even the casual energy observer has noticed that the Texas wind rush is on. Texas by far has the most wind capacity installed than any other state and solar is gearing up for a red hot run in the coming years. Wind and solar are powerful forces in their own right, mainly given their ever lower costs and their rare ability to provide some long-term stability in a turbulent world. The U.S., including Texas, has deployed large numbers of wind turbines and solar panels and deployment will  continue to grow. But once another emerging technology — cheap energy storage — shows up, they might very well explode onto the landscape. That is on the verge of happening..."

Read the full article here.



PV Magazine:
Distributed Storage Could Save Texas $344 Million per Year by Deferring Transmission and Distribution Costs

May 11, 2020
William Driscoll 

An estimated 20% of transmission and distribution investments in Texas are designed to meet load growth, and could largely be deferred by adding distributed battery storage. That’s a key finding of a report from the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), which pegged the annual savings possible in Texas from this “non-wires solution” at $344 million per year.

“Customers would save substantially if non-wires solutions were explicitly considered as competitive options compared to traditional infrastructure build-out,” said Suzanne Bertin, TAEBA’s managing director, in testimony to the Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce in February. Bertin publicized the TAEBA study and her testimony in a recent post co-authored by Claire Alford, a policy associate with the national clean energy group Advanced Energy Economy. The report, prepared by Demand Side Analytics, also showed that 1,000 MW of distributed storage could reduce electricity costs for Texas consumers by more than $300 million per year.

Read the full article here.


Energy Central: Texas Executive Forum Grapples with the Next Phase of Grid Innovation: Integrating Distributed Energy Resources 

December 12, 2019
Suzanne Bertin 

"Top executives in the Texas advanced energy sector met last week in Austin for an Executive Forum put on by the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA). The topic: The Next Frontier in Texas Electric Competition: Integrating Storage and Distributed Energy Resources. The exclusive gathering drew over 25 key figures in business and regulation, including Public Utility Commission of Texas Commissioner Arthur D’Andrea, ERCOT CEO Bill Magness, and former PUCT and FERC Chairman Pat Wood. Industry leaders participating included executives from Greenlots, EVgo, CPower, Enel X, Landis & Gyr, Recurve, Savion, Siemens, Stem, Demand Side Analytics, ENGIE North America, Hunt BEE Network, and Rocky Mountain Institute. The daylong session was co-hosted and sponsored by Eversheds-Sutherland and Husch Blackwell and moderated by TAEBA’s Suzanne Bertin and AEE’s Caitlin Marquis...

Read the full article here.

TAEBA's DER report covered by Microgrid Knowledge "Texas Customers Could Save $5.47 Billion with DERs, but Regulations Must Change

November 20, 2019
Lisa Cohn 

“Texas consumers could save $5.47 billion over ten years with distributed energy resources (DERs), but regulations must change to realize these benefits. A study by Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) identified two ways DERs can reduce costs: Act as non-wires alternatives to avoid investment in transmission and distribution ($2.45 billion over ten years) and decrease peak energy costs in the wholesale market which is worth $3.01 billion. Because much of the study is based on 2018 data, these savings estimates don’t incorporate the fact that prices for peaking energy last summer jumped as high as a whopping $9,000/MWh.

Even though this report looked at the ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) market specifically, it still is indicative of the value DERs bring in other markets as well,” said Suzanne Bertin, managing director, TAEBA. “That’s money that is right on the bottom line in terms of what customers have to pay for electricity.”

Read the full article here.

Houston Chronicle (print and online), quotes TAEBA's Bertin: "Integrating Smaller Power Generators Could Save Texans $5.5B" 

November 14, 2019
L.M. Sixel

Electricity consumers in Texas could save nearly $5.5 billion over the next decade if Texas regulators and utilities did a better job integrating distributed energy resources such as backup generators, rooftop solar and batteries to reduce the need for building expensive peak power generation and transmission projects, according to a new study.

The Austin trade group Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance estimated Texas households could save an average of $456 over a decade if Texas did more to integrate backyard solar panels and quick-start natural gas micro turbines into transmission and distribution planning and allowing small-scale generators to participate in wholesale markets.

Read the full article here (subscription required), that was also picked up by Midland, San Antonio and Beaumont newspapers.


 

Microgrid Knowledge: Texas Utility Commission to Take Up Utility Ownership of Storage Assets

June 10, 2019
Ken Silverstein

“We support competitive solutions first,” says Suzanne Bertin, managing director of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, in an interview. “But we have supported having the option for a utility to own storage in limited circumstances — with utility commission approval — where the competitive market has failed to provide a solution. She adds that the regulatory system should be modernized to support the opportunity for utilities to contract with distributed energy resources for reliability. “And they should be given a rate of return on those reliability contracts — to neutralize the inherent regulatory incentives they have to build more expensive wires solutions.”

Some background: When the electricity market was restructured in Texas in 1999, a bright line was drawn between wires companies that receive a regulated rate of return and the competitive market, generally. The goal was to ensure that the competitive market can provide as many services as possible. To that end, a few years ago, the Texas legislature designated energy storage as generation.

Read the full article here (subscription required).


 

Energy Central: In Texas, Incentives for Wind & Solar Development Were Extended, but Storage Questions Go Back to PUCT

June 5, 2019
Suzanne Bertin | Energy Central

"In odd-numbered years, the Texas Legislature meets for 140 days starting on the second Tuesday in January to consider the state’s regular business, with the main objective of passing a two-year budget. This year, as always, bills introduced with potential impact on the state’s energy system covered a wide range of topics, both positive and negative for advanced energy. This session, the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) was directly engaged with or closely watching approximately 80 bills. When the Legislature gaveled out on Memorial Day, the outcomes for advanced energy were net positive, with tax incentives for large-scale renewable energy projects preserved and onerous fees on electric vehicles avoided. And while the Legislature didn’t pass a bill on ownership of battery storage, that issue goes back to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) with some clear indications of legislative preference.  Here are the highlights from a very busy legislative session..."

Read the full article here.


 

The Houston Chronicle (Opinion): Texas' energy needs are changing. Legislature needs to keep up.

April 9, 2019
Suzanne Bertin

In an article for the Houston Chronicle, TAEBA's Suzanne Bertin published an article detailing the need for Texas legislature to keep up with the changing Texas energy market. Bertin writes: 

It’s been 20 years since Texas gave electricity customers the power to choose. In 1999, when I was as a staffer at the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the Legislature passed Senate Bill 7 — landmark bipartisan legislation that restructured Texas’ electricity markets, in part by injecting competition into the system... 

Read the full article here (subscription required).


Advanced Energy Perspectives: Decision on Smart Meter Texas Will Help Customers and Advanced Energy Providers Put Data to Work

May 15, 2018
Suzanne Bertin | Advanced Energy Perspectives

Suzanne Bertin published a piece in Advanced Energy Perspectives reacting to PUCT's approval of a settlement agreement regarding improvements to the Smart Meter Texas (SMT) portal. Bertin writes: 

"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.

Historically, Texas has been at the vanguard of electricity market competition. It was also, in 2008, one of the first states to deploy advanced meters, with the Smart Meter Texas portal being a feature unique to Texas. Smart Meter Texas (SMT) is a meter data access portal established by and jointly managed by the ERCOT region transmission and distribution utilities (CenterPoint, Oncor, AEP, and Texas-New Mexico Power Co.) in conjunction with advanced meter deployment to allow customers to access their energy data."

Read the full article here.


 

TAEBA’s Bertin and AEE's Dylan Reed published in Houston Chronicle: "FERC chairman says Perry's grid proposal to be decided by Dec. 11"

November 12, 2017 
Suzanne Bertin & Dylan Reed | Houston Chronicle

The Houston Chronicle published this opinion piece reacting to a significant FERC grid proposal decision. 

"Regarding "FERC chairman says Perry's grid proposal to be decided by Dec. 11" (Chron.com Thursday), U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, recently showed leadership in Washington, D.C., by standing up for consumers and energy freedom. When he saw a government intrusion into energy markets, Olson spearheaded a bipartisan letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in support of competition among all energy technologies. Olson recognizes that market competition benefits consumers and our electric grid, rather than having politicians pick winners and losers. Olson's letter was specifically in response to a federal proposal that would bail out uneconomic power plants. Current estimates predict this proposed regulation could cost Americans as much as $11 billion a year over the next decade, and FERC will issue a final decision by Dec. 11."

Read the full piece here.


Advanced Energy Perspectives: Texas Restores Incentives for Advanced Vehicles, Boosts Fleets with Grants for Vehicles and Fueling Infrastructure

July 25, 2017
Suzanne Bertin | Advanced Energy Perspectives

Suzanne Bertin published a piece in Advanced Energy Perspectives detailing SB 1731 which provides incentives for advanced vehicles. Bertin writes:

"On June 12, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law SB 1731, enacting policies promoting electric and hydrogen vehicles and other advanced energy transportation technologies in the Lone Star State. In a legislative session otherwise dominated by social issues, the passage of this bill was a high point for advanced energy. At Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), this was one of our priority bills, and we are glad to see Texas return to the leadership role it held until a key incentive program lapsed in 2015. Now, Texas has rejoined the 14 other states and Washington, D.C., that provide incentives for advanced vehicles.

The bill, originally introduced as SB 26 by Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls), amends various programs under the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP), a law enacted in 2001 to provide a suite of voluntary incentives to support cost-effective compliance with federal Clean Air Act requirements..."

Read the full article here.



Utility Dive: Fixed Charge Battle Looms in Texas as Regulators Tackle Rate Design Reform

August 23, 2016
Herman K. Trabish | Utility Dive

In this article for Utility Dive, TAEBA Executive Director Suzanne Bertin discusses new rate design mechanisms:

Now part of a larger review of utility ratemaking in Texas, the Christensen report and other new research offer Texas the “opportunity to modify regulatory methods to meet 21st century needs,” Suzanne Bertin, Executive Director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) told Utility Dive. New rate design options are currently under consideration in a handful of states like New York and California, with regulators aiming to align utility business practices with the deployment and operation of third-party resources like rooftop solar and battery storage. While many in Texas see that opportunity emerging in their state, early rate reform discussions there have raised concerns the state may be headed down a familiar path of contention regarding fixed charges, with little upside for non-utility stakeholders...

TAEBA’s Bertin expanded on that point in a lengthier statement. Incentives that align utility and customer incentives can “maximize the use of available Texas infrastructure to meet customer demand for distributed generation, DER, demand response, efficiency, and storage but SFV rates will not do that.” The order in SB 774 offers the commission an opportunity “to adopt new ratemaking mechanisms to create incentives for non-wires alternatives that will use DER to lower customer cost and increase customer efficiency,” she added.

Instead of the disincentives in SFV rates, the commission should consider the revenue decoupling concepts used across the country in both regulated and restructured markets as well as the newer concept of performance based rates, Burton said. “Traditional ratemaking is backwards-looking and asks 'what did we get for how much?' but performance based ratemaking aligns goals of customers and utilities by asking 'what do we want and how do we achieve it?'” she explained. “It turns the focus away from costs and mimics competition.”

Read the full article here.



S&P Platts: Texas utility rate proposal draws fire, praise

August 10, 2016
Mark Watson | S&P Platts

In an article for S&P Platts, Mark Watson quoted TAEBA Executive Director Suzanne Bertin discussing a utility rate change. Watson writes:

Another witness who spoke against the SFV rate mechanism was Suzanne Bertin, executive director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, a group of companies involved in energy efficiency, energy storage, demand response, distributed energy resources, natural gas generation, biofuels, nuclear power and smart grid sectors. 

"Straight fixed-variable can allow utilities to recover costs either through fixed monthly charges or peak demand charges, and a major down side of substantially increasing those fixed charges is that it creates a disincentive for customers to invest in distributed energy resources by taking away their opportunity to make their personal decisions about how and when to consume energy," Burton said. "SFV would send the wrong price signal to customers by reducing the incentive to manage their own bills and reduce their own usage."

Read the full article here (subscription required).

 


 

San Antonio Business Journal: ‘Advanced energy’ jobs outnumber refining

May 20, 2016
Sergio Chapa | San Antonio Business Journal

The San Antonio Business Journal featured TAEBA’s report, “Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas 2016” in an article that detailed the scope of the advanced energy economy in Texas. Chapa writes:

The Lone Star State is the center of the nation’s oil and gas industry, but the solar, wind and energy-efficiency sectors appear to be on track to one day eclipse the fossil-fuel industry. 

It’s no secret that low commodity prices have resulted in thousands of layoffs across the oil and gas industry, which at last count employed around 245,000 people in Texas. But a new report from the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance shows that “advanced energy” jobs have grown to the point where they now employ more people than refining and chemical manufacturing in the Lone Star State.

Read the full story here.

 


 

CleanTechnica: 143,000 Workers in Texas Advanced Energy Industry

May 17, 2016
Jake Richardson | CleanTechnica

CleanTechnica covers TAEBA’s latest report, “Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas.” Richardson writes:

At the growth rate of 7% mentioned above, about 9,334 new advanced energy jobs would be added to the Texas economy this year. About half of the 143,000 work in energy efficiency. Almost 39,000 work in the advanced electricity production field, which includes wind and solar power. Of the nearly 39,000, about 44% work in wind power, which is not so surprising considering that Texas is a wind power leader in the US. There are also about 9,500 workers who are employed in the corn ethanol field.

19,000 are employed in advanced transportation, so they spend all or part of their time working on hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and natural gas vehicles.

Read the full story here.

 


 

E&E News: “Advanced energy group touts jobs”

May 10, 2016
Edward Klump and Pamela King

Energywire covers TAEBA’s latest report, Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas. Klump and King write:

The report, formally released today by the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), tallied around 143,000 positions in advanced energy in the state last year. That easily topped a 100,000 figure from the chemical and refining segment, more than doubled the estimated 60,000 jobs in airlines, and trailed building construction by about 12,000 jobs.

And more expansion may be on the way, according to the report prepared by the BW Research Partnership. It highlighted an estimated addition of 9,334 Texas advanced energy jobs by the end of this year to surpass 152,000, marking potential growth of close to 7 percent.

"The main takeaway of the report is simply that we are a significant presence in the state of Texas and we're growing," Suzanne Bertin, TAEBA's executive director, said in an interview.

Read the full article here (subscription required).

 


 

Coverage Round-Up: Texas Advanced Energy Jobs Report 

May 10, 2016
Various

Today TAEBA released a report on employment in Texas’s advanced energy industry, which stands at an estimated 143,023 workers. That’s more people than are employed in chemical manufacturing and petroleum refining, twice as many as employed by airlines, and nearly as many working in building construction in the Lone Star State. Several news outlets covered the report. Click on any below to be taken to the full text of the story (some sources require subscriptions): 

Solar Server: “Advanced Energy Industry Employs 143,000 Workers in Texas, with Employment Expected to Increase 7% This Year

 


 

Austin Business Journal, Energy Wire, and Texas Energy Report Profile TAEBA’s New Executive Director

February 4, 2016
Various

Austin Business Journal profiled TAEBA’s new Executive Director Suzanne Bertin, noting her Texas roots and extensive energy background. The Journal quotes Bertin:  

“Texas has enviable resources and the opportunity to expand and diversify our energy market, creating jobs and economic growth, while improving reliability and resiliency of our energy infrastructure,” Bertin said in a statement. “TAEBA is made up of great companies that can make this happen.”

Polly Ross Hughes, writing for Texas Energy Report, notes that TAEBA covers an emerging $16 billion market and quotes an official from an advanced energy company:

“We are thrilled to have Suzanne Bertin leading our efforts to build a strong industry presence in Texas,” said Todd Horsman, vice president of regulatory and delivery for Landis + Gyr, specializing in energy management solutions such as smart grid services. “New technologies and business models are fundamentally changing the way we make, manage and use energy. We could not have found a better leader to ensure Texas gets its fair share of this high-growth market, along with the investment and jobs that come with it.”

Edward Klump, covering Bertin’s appointment for Energywire, profiles her energy background, in addition to her status as a lifelong Texan. Klump writes:

TAEBA said her experiences have touched on issues related to demand response, energy efficiency, natural gas, renewable energy, electric vehicles and smart grids.