If there’s anything the last decade has shown, it’s that the clean energy transition is a powerful force. The increase in optimism, opportunity, and investment is building momentum toward a net-zero carbon economy. Here at GPI, we truly are positioned to create the market conditions to accelerate the clean energy transition.
The path to historic change is never clear, straight, or steady. For nearly a decade at the Minnesota Department of Commerce, I experienced my fair share of reacting to changing economic, policy, and legal factors to accomplish our mission to protect the state’s energy consumers. There’s no question that there is more energy and momentum right now—with more diverse sources of interest and investment—behind the clean energy transition than ever before. And we need to make the most of it.
Adapting to regulatory shifts in the clean energy transition
This momentum means we’re not taking our foot off the accelerator despite some of the changes and uncertainty created by recent US Supreme Court decisions or the pending election outcomes across the country. Over the last 27 years, GPI has played a crucial role in bringing together diverse stakeholders and driving policy development while supporting the needs of host communities. As a result, we’ve seen that the economic, social, and sustainability opportunities and benefits of the clean energy transition exist across geographies, industrial sectors, and political boundaries.
Those opportunities to connect investment to community needs continue to be our focus. So, while shifts like the overturning of the Chevron doctrine or changing political leadership have an impact, our priority is to reevaluate where the opportunities are to build consensus and drive investment. That’s why GPI teams are working to harness the incredible momentum today to continue accelerating the clean energy transition at the state and local levels.
National uncertainty addressed in three steps
Shifts like the Chevron decision or an impending election generate uncertainty, which is the most immediate challenge. Both federal and state regulators provide a critically important function of creating market stability by implementing statutes with clear rules and guidance. With more uncertainty moving into the federal regulatory and policy space, there are three areas to keep driving forward with clean energy and carbon-reduction goals.
Look to the states and communities
Every state and community has valuable opportunities to accelerate the clean energy transition, from economywide decarbonization plans to incentivizing local economic investment in essential clean energy infrastructure. Additionally, thanks to legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, billions of dollars have already been distributed nationwide to public and private sector leaders.
Within the last month alone, over $4.5 billion was awarded to 45 applicants in 33 states and one tribe from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants and the Transmission Siting and Economic Development grants programs. These federal dollars, with more to come in the near term, represent a huge opportunity for organizations like GPI to offer expertise and facilitation to awardees (and those hoping to secure upcoming awards) to maximize the effectiveness of those investments.
In addition, states and communities have their own energy, environmental, and economic interests that are already being advanced through legislation, community engagement, local action, and more. From advancing fields like transportation electrification and carbon management to transmission modernization and development, the opportunities to drive energy and economic transition exist in all 50 states, whether the goal is carbon reduction, energy reliability and affordability, economic competitiveness, or all of the above.
Be a resource for and engage with lawmakers
The recent changes in long-standing legal precedents are likely to influence how legislators and regulators approach their responsibilities. This shift challenges the balance between different arms of government.
At the Department of Commerce, we mainly thought of ourselves as “policy takers,” not “policy makers,” relying on the interpretation of legislative intent rather than creating policy outright. However, even with this philosophy, agencies have often needed to navigate the complexities and ambiguities of real-world applications of law—an approach supported by the Chevron doctrine, which recognized that legislation cannot account for every nuance.
In a post-Chevron world, where agencies no longer have the deference to interpret statutes, it becomes crucial for organizations like GPI to play a more active role. By directly engaging with legislators and regulators, we can help ensure that laws and regulations are clearer, more widely accepted, and better understood. This means sharing the most up-to-date data, the latest developments from the field, and broader perspectives and input from stakeholders we are uniquely positioned to engage. Through such engagement, we can support the development of legislation that is both informed and adaptable to the evolving legal landscape.
Engage the private sector
As much as public policy makers benefit from direct engagement, private businesses and philanthropic funders will benefit from understanding where the momentum generated by new policies creates the greatest opportunity and need for their investment.
Of course, getting the policies right is only the first step. Connecting energy project developers to effective stakeholder engagement processes is critical to successful and rapid project implementation. We see this every day in our work, and it ensures key parties understand the steps and how they can engage and feel like there is a reasonable process, even if they’re not fully supportive of the outcome.
Exciting future
I’m lucky to have joined GPI and taken this next step in my career at such an important and exciting time in the clean energy transition. We have more levers than ever to generate the economic and societal prosperity that comes with great energy and industrial transformations. I’m excited for the work to come!
