I had to figure it out on my own. And I did. And I promised that I would always share what I learned because I wasted a lot of unnecessary time. I came to understand how to access opportunity. Who is in the room. Who gets heard. Who is invited into the conversations that move careers forward.

Those moments matter. More than we often acknowledge. I want everyone to learn those lessons and not have to wait to be noticed, sponsored or mentored. CLEANPOWER in Color was created with that in mind.

This work is personal for me. I came to ACP because I wanted to be intentional about providing knowledge and creating space for our community, not just to participate in this industry, but to help lead it. Last year, we launched this event during a challenging moment. What stayed with me was not just the programming, but what happened in between: People connected in meaningful ways. They shared experiences openly. They left with a stronger sense of where they fit and where they could go next.

That is the kind of space we are continuing to build. A space where professionals of color are not on the margins of the conversation, but at the center of it. A space where growth happens not just through content, but through connection, reflection, and shared experience. Because leadership is not built in isolation. It is shaped over time, through the rooms we are in and the people we learn from along the way.

I hope you will join us in Houston this June.

Learn more and register today

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• The Trump administration has demonstrated greater organization and momentum in its second term, enabling rapid implementation of energy policies through executive orders.
• According to a former advisor, Trump’s approach appears to support an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that could accommodate clean power development if market-driven.
• The reconciliation process for tax policy changes is anticipated around August-September, creating a critical timeline for clean energy stakeholders.

ACP recently hosted a PowerTalk examining the first 100 days of the Trump administration’s second term, featuring insights from political and media experts on what this new chapter means for American energy policy and the clean power sector. The analysis revealed important implications for renewable energy development, energy market dynamics, and industry investment strategies moving forward.

Speaking to the relevance of these conversations for the clean energy industry, ACP’s CEO Jason Grumet stated: “As builders, we care very much about the executive actions that enable this country to ‘build baby build’ as fast as possible. And as manufacturers, our industry has brought nearly 200 new manufacturing facilities online in the last few years—so we care very deeply about tariffs and trade policy.”

Joining Jason Grumet for the first half of the discussion was Marc Lotter, co-host of Newsmax’s Wake Up America and former Special Assistant to President Trump, followed by a conversation between Grumet and Julia Manchester, political reporter for The Hill and News Nation, and Hans Nichols, political reporter for Axios and a former NBC News political reporter.

Trump’s Second Term: Better Organization and Policy Implementation

A distinct difference between Trump’s first and second terms has emerged in these early days. Marc Lotter observed: “The thing that is most striking to me is how much more prepared they were for Trump 2.0 than we were on Trump 1.0.” This preparation has enabled rapid implementation of policies through executive orders and nominations that have “just sailed through.” The administration has used their political capital to create momentum across multiple policy fronts simultaneously.

This enhanced organizational capacity directly influences how the administration is approaching energy policy decisions that impact clean power development and renewable energy markets.

All-of-the-Above Energy Strategy: Implications for Clean Power

Despite concerns about potential conflicts between the administration’s rhetoric and some executive actions, Lotter suggested that Trump fundamentally supports diverse energy sources: “I truly believe he thinks that if you can do it cleaner, cheaper, better and bring it to the market, do it. We need more power.”

Julia Manchester, political reporter for The Hill, characterized the administration as “organized chaos,” noting that while the pace is frenetic there appears to be “competent leadership, whether you agree with them politically or not.” This organization may prove crucial to the administration’s effectiveness as the administration navigates complex energy policy challenges.

Tax Reconciliation Timeline: Critical Dates for Energy Stakeholders

For the clean energy industry, the reconciliation process and potential tax policy changes represent crucial developments to monitor. Hans Nichols, political reporter for Axios, offered a clear timeline prediction: “They want to use the threat of a debt shutdown… That puts you in an August, September timeframe.” This timeline creates both urgency and opportunity for energy stakeholders to engage with policymakers.

The tight margins in the House—where Speaker Johnson can only afford to lose three votes—create additional complexity. As Nichols noted, “Members of Congress have now learned that they all can be Joe Manchin and they can all hold the bill hostage for one or two things that they want.”

As the Trump administration continues to implement its agenda, the clean energy industry will need to navigate a complex policy landscape while advocating for consistent, market-driven approaches that support American energy leadership across all technologies. The coming months will be critical as reconciliation legislation takes shape and longer-term energy policies emerge.

The ���鶹��Ƶ Association and its members are working hard to influence favorable outcomes for the clean power sector so the industry can continue contributing to grid reliability, energy security, and economic development across the country.

Watch the PowerTalk.

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The energy storage industry is growing at an exponential rate, with seven times more utility-scale energy storage capacity today than at the end of 2020. Currently, the U.S. energy storage industry supports over 60,000 jobs in technology innovation, advanced manufacturing, engineering, and construction. Over the next decade, energy storage capacity will add tens of thousands of megawatts to America’s electric grid.��

“The clean energy transition cannot succeed without extraordinary growth in energy storage. American energy must be clean, affordable, reliable, and secure. Energy storage is essential to achieving each of these national imperatives,” said Jason Grumet, ACP CEO. “ACP’s membership is on the cutting edge of the energy storage revolution. ACP RECHARGE will serve as the ultimate destination to share ideas, display technological advances and participate in dynamic forums that address the challenges we face ahead.”��

The conference is taking place alongside the in Portland —which will feature the exciting single-seater motorsport championship league for electric cars. Registration for ACP RECHARGE will give attendees a chance to access tickets for the race taking place on June 29.����

“The energy transition is happening faster than expected and recent extreme weather events have inspired a renewed focus on grid reliability and resiliency. No technology resource is more poised than energy storage to meet today’s reliability needs and deliver on state clean energy goals,” said Mateo Jaramillo, CEO of Form Energy. “We look forward to ACP RECHARGE and the timely opportunity to explore diverse emerging technologies, the policy frameworks that can unleash the many benefits of energy storage, and the strength and capabilities of our dynamic industry.”����

“Events like ACP RECHARGE Summit are an exciting step for the energy storage industry,” said John Zahurancik, President of Fluence. “The industry is growing at lightning speed. That speed means forums like this are critical in elevating safety, expanding the supply chain and supporting reliable power systems all over the world.”��

“As the energy storage industry continues its impressive growth, the inaugural ACP RECHARGE is the place to be for the latest on financing, technology, and markets,” said Jacquie DeRosa, VP of Energy Storage for Ameresco. “I’m excited to see our energy storage leaders in Portland to celebrate successes, exchange insights and drive the next phase of storage advancements. Together, we’re shaping a sustainable energy future.”����

Register today at /energy-storage-conference/.��

The post ACP Launches New Event Focused on Energy Storage Sector appeared first on ACP.

The clean power industry continues to face substantial barriers to project deployment, which could put numerous projects at risk. In particular, the siting of solar, onshore wind and storage projects requires a multitude of processes including lease negotiations, contracts, local governing body permits, applicable state and federal permits (environmental, wildlife, etc.) and ongoing community engagement, all of which can increase costs and delay or at worst terminate projects.��

But these challenges also present opportunities. Engaging stakeholders and community members in early conversations, can not only minimize negative outcomes, but maximize the positive outcomes in ways that may have initially gone unnoticed.

Permitting has never been in the spotlight like it is today. This is why this year’s Siting and Environmental Compliance Conference is more important than ever. ��The #ACPSiting23 conference brings together industry leaders, subject matter experts, environmental and land use planning professionals, and other stakeholders to tackle the burning issues we face at the local level while exchanging best practices and technical knowledge to help us achieve our collective goal of advancing the clean energy transition. Together, we can continue to be an industry that ensures responsible, successful, efficient project siting and permitting.

Siting conference sessions will cover issues impacting onshore wind, solar, and energy storage development and will dive into:��

• Policy & Regulatory Reforms��
• Permitting Challenges��
• Community Engagement and Local Affairs, including Tribal Engagement��
• Decommissioning and Disposal/End-of-Life Strategies��
• Emerging Technologies, and more.��

In addition to engaging and informative sessions, the conference will offer networking opportunities, exhibition space, and additional learning opportunities from poster presentations that will give attendees the opportunity to discuss challenges, solutions, and best practices one-on-one with the subject matter experts.

Join ACP and hundreds of siting and permitting professionals at the Siting Conference and Environmental Conference in greater Albuquerque this March 28 – 29.�� Visit the conference homepage to view the most up-to-date agenda and speaker and exhibitor lists and register today.����

The post Addressing Barriers to Deployment at ACP’s Siting and Environmental Compliance Conference �� appeared first on ACP.

A Policy Forum Like No Other

This year’s February 15th event will be a celebration. For almost a decade, the energy storage industry has advocated a federal investment tax credit (ITC) specifically for energy storage. And we did it! We finally have a storage ITC with the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last summer. And the U.S. energy storage industry has made other strides too: in the last decade, we secured nine state deployment targets, over $1 billion in state incentives, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)’s landmark Order 841, and a variety of RTO/ISO updates to market products.

So, what’s left to do? Did we solve all the problems? (Hint: nope!) This year’s Policy Forum looks ahead at developing opportunities for energy storage in a post-IRA world.

What We’ll Discuss: State, Federal, Industry and Markets Conversations

The state policy conversation at the 2023 Policy Forum will focus on how restructured states—that is, states where choices for electric reliability are made by regional markets, rather than utilities and state regulators—can make policy progress on storage. State policymakers know they need energy storage to achieve their clean energy mandates. While storage deployment targets have been effective for inducing procurements in vertically structured states, they do not translate well in restructured states, where market mechanisms are the desired basis for resource choices. We need new answers “beyond targets” in those states. I’m thrilled to explore this challenge with David Sandbank, Vice President of NYSERDA, which has proposed a novel program; Abe Silverman, General Counsel for New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, which has proposed an innovative program; and Carrie Zalewski, Chair of the Illinois Commerce Commission, where policymakers face similar challenges and are considering versions of these ideas. (For those of you attending the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Winter Policy Summit, we’ll be just a few blocks away—pop out and join us!)

The electricity markets conversation at the 2023 Policy Forum will pick up where the state policy conversation leaves off, discussing how RTOs/ISOs are shaping opportunities for storage. While storage began in ancillary services markets and has recently entered energy markets, the role of storage in resource adequacy and capacity markets remains contested. Market designs will continue to evolve for a grid with greater deployments of storage and renewables, the pace of which will be increasingly determined by interconnection queues. I’m very excited to geek out on where markets are going with FERC Commissioner Allison Clements as well as bringing leading RTO/ISO experts–like Walter Graf from PJM and Anna Foglesong from MISO–onstage to talk through their own market’s evolution and resource adequacy challenges.

The federal policy conversation at the 2023 Policy Forum will broaden the lens to what is happening in the wake of the storage ITC. The energy storage industry still faces large-scale challenges including implementing the IRA, combating rising global trade tensions, and promoting domestic supply chains and infrastructure. And the post-IRA politics of clean energy are changing, in part due to a new period of divided government. On that last point, I am pleased that Jason Grumet, founder of the Bipartisan Policy Center and ACP’s new CEO, will offer his vision for the storage and renewables industries and lead our keynote policy dialogue on the 118th Congress.

Finally, I think it will be important to take stock of the evolving relationship between the U.S. energy storage industry, policymakers, and other power sector stakeholders. I wrote about how the storage industry has gone from struggling to get policy attention and market traction to now post-IRA having “good problems” that come with overwhelming demand. With great power comes great responsibility, and I’m honored to have longtime industry veterans like Kiran Kumaraswamy of Fluence and Polly Shaw of Plus Power join me onstage to use our insights from the last decade of our advocacy to forecast the next decade of advocacy ahead for the energy storage industry.

Of course, most of all, there will be all of you and your colleagues—connecting with each other as much as our esteemed speakers. I expect a jubilant mood. So come join us this February 15—register today!

Elliot Mainzer, CEO of the California ISO, at the 2022 Energy Storage Policy Forum.

Former FERC Commissioners Norman Bay and Colette Honorable and Deputy Director for Policy Christy Walsh at the 2022 Energy Storage Policy Forum.

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