As we worked, however, the numbers added up to record years for renewable energy development and liquid natural gas exports. While residential energy efficiency was held back by COVID-19 precautions, commercial buildings covered by energy efficiency and disclosure policies increased. Electric, fuel-cell and natural gas vehicle sales all stayed steady or grew, while gasoline vehicle sales fell sharply.

These results reflect the maturity of the clean energy industries, and unstoppable momentum for the energy transition. While our work is far from over, as we plan for the future we can recognize that the rubber has hit the road and we are flying forward.

There is real optimism in Washington, D.C. While the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change remain daunting, we are in a season of renewal that will underpin our efforts.

In this newsletter, you’ll find highlights from BCSE’s outreach and events, our engagement on international diplomacy, and our work on state and federal policy to advance clean energy. We greatly appreciate the wide network of supporters and partners who help us do this work. I hope that you are feeling energized for the next steps towards America’s clean energy future.

2021 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook Resources

Download the report, executive summary, findings at-a-glance, and quick stats at bcse.org/factbook.

BCSE press statements were covered in E&E News, Daily Energy Insider, Power Magazine, ERO Insider, and other industry press. See all BCSE press statements here. BCSE published three op-eds this spring on clean energy data and policy, linked below.

Charles Hernick, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy for Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions and Lisa Jacobson wrote about the continued success of the clean energy industries despite the disruptions of the pandemic, and the importance of continued bipartisan policy to advance climate change solutions.

Lisa Jacobson used data from the 2021 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook to demonstrate the impact of clean energy tax policy and make the case for continued bipartisan and technology-inclusive approaches.

Gregg Mast, Executive Director of Clean Energy Economy Minnesota and Lisa Jacobson marked the release of the 2021 Minnesota Energy Factsheet with an article about policy opportunities to create jobs and make progress on climate goals.

The recently announced U.S. Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement, will, in the BCSE’s view, “send a clear market signal to accelerate the clean energy transformation” in the United States. The NDC sets a 2030 target for the United States to reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels. U.S. clean energy industries will play a big role in helping the country achieve this goal and move towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. “We need to identify durable and supportive policy pathways, and foster new public-private partnerships, to make progress in this critical climate decade,” commented BCSE President Lisa Jacobson in the press release.

As part of U.S. Climate Action Week, the BCSE co-hosted a related discussion on Translating Climate Ambition into Clean Energy Jobs, which included a conversation between Lisa Jacobson and Badar Khan, President of National Grid US, pictured below.

Did you know that the Clean Energy Business Network (CEBN) now includes more than 5,200 members across all 50 states?

The CEBN is also a “Power Connector” to the U.S. Department of Energy's American-Made Challenges Program that incentivizes entrepreneurs to strengthen American leadership in energy innovation and domestic manufacturing.

During their annual member advocacy campaign each spring, CEBN members have met with 40 congressional offices to discuss energy innovation funding and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) improvements.

Keep up with the CEBN by subscribing to their newsletter, and by following their Twitter and LinkedIn feeds.

This is the fourth year that CEBN has operated under the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.

Brightmark, based in San Francisco, CA, is a global waste solutions company with a mission to reimagine waste. The company takes a holistic, closed loop, circular economy approach to its business, through the deployment of disruptive, breakthrough waste-to-energy solutions focused on plastics renewal (plastic waste-to-fuel) and renewable natural gas (organic waste-to-fuel).

Carlisle Construction Materials LLC (CCM), headquartered in Carlisle, PA, is a diversified manufacturer and supplier of premium building products and related technologies for the commercial and residential construction markets. CCM supplies innovative and energy-efficient building products for commercial and residential markets.

Tenaska, based in Omaha, NE, is one of the leading independent energy companies in the United States. Tenaska has developed, managed and/or operated approximately 22 gigawatts (GW) of natural gas-fueled and renewable generation. Affiliates Tenaska Marketing Ventures and Tenaska Power Services are industry leaders in energy marketing.

The Federal Policy Committee is working with members of the 117th Congress to ensure that clean energy is a foundational piece of federal infrastructure investment. The BCSE outlined its top priorities for economic recovery and infrastructure policy in a March 11 letter to Congressional leadership. In current negotiations for FY 22 federal budget appropriations, the BCSE has shared its funding requests for the Department of Energy through the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, resilience measures at Department of Defense facilities, the FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program at the Department of Homeland Security, the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) through the Department of Agriculture, and multiple clean energy programs at the Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The International Policy Committee coordinates the coalition’s engagement at international forums and on key policy issues. In recent months this work has focused on the plans for the U.S. NDC and the Leaders Summit on Climate and the surrounding opportunities to showcase business leadership on climate action. The Committee is engaged on U.S. multilateral efforts to share the private sector perspective, including the Clean Energy Ministerial in Chile, the Green Climate Fund and global plans for the Road to COP 26 in Glasgow, Scotland.

The State and Regional Policy Committee meets quarterly with key public officials that influence state clean energy policy and implementation. The Committee heard from the current president of the National Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and will meet with the chair of the NARUC Electricity Committee in June. The Committee continues to partner with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), including joint efforts to focus federal efforts on resilience in communities across the country.

The Clean Air and Climate Committee works to review climate change policy and legislative proposals from the Biden Administration and Congress and to offer industry expertise and reactions. In April, the BCSE submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on agriculture’s role in combatting climate change. The Committee also consulted with think tanks, universities and environmental NGOs that have developed analysis on U.S. emission reduction scenarios to meet an economy-wide emission reduction target of at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Efforts this summer will focus on reviewing the CLEAN Future Act as well as proposals addressing climate change risk management and disclosure.