On August 19, 2021, The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) released a Guide to 100% Clean Energy States (https://bit.ly/CESAStateGuidetoCleanEnergy). The Guide includes information about the goals, timelines, legislation, and plans of 18 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, that have adopted 100% clean electricity goals. Together, these jurisdictions represent 44 percent of the US population and almost half of U.S. GDP.
The online Guide makes it easier to track what is going on at the state level related to zero-carbon electricity.
“This new Guide will help state officials and other stakeholders to learn about state actions on the path to 100% clean electricity,” noted CESA Executive Director Warren Leon. “States can easily find information that will be useful as they develop their own plans and implementation strategies.”
The Guide is divided into five parts:
- A table listing all the states with 100% clean energy goals, specifying the nature of each goal and how it was established
- A map and timelines showing the states and their goals in visual formats
- Summaries of seven states’ plans for meeting their goals, with each report’s key conclusions and CESA’s identification of key “takeaways”
- A visual comparison of the seven plans showing the analytical scopes, technologies, and policies covered by the different states
- Links to the legislation, plans, reports, and other documents related to all 20 jurisdictions’ goals.
The Guide was produced for the 100% Clean Energy Collaborative, an initiative to assist states that have zero-carbon goals, as well as states that may seek to establish such a goal. Through the Collaborative, the states have been sharing their plans and experiences so that they can learn from each other in order to make more rapid progress towards carbon-free power. CESA manages the Collaborative, in partnership with the U.S. Climate Alliance. Although state agency officials are the primary Collaborative participants, other stakeholders and the general public can attend free webinars and receive a free monthly newsletter that reports on activities across the country.
In conjunction with publishing the Guide, CESA is also releasing How Wholesale Power Markets Work, the first in a series of short white papers designed to help state officials and other stakeholders understand wholesale electricity markets, as well as to provide suggestions for how to influence regional decisions related to wholesale markets.
The author of the paper, Bentham Paulos, principal of PaulosAnalysis, points out that: “The current structure of wholesale electricity markets, which were designed for conventional dispatchable generation, represents a barrier to achieving carbon-free power. State policymakers, many of whom may not have engaged previously on wholesale market issues, can benefit from better understanding how they can monitor and influence regulatory decisions that could impact the achievement of zero-carbon electricity goals.”
The Guide to 100% Clean Energy States was produced by a team of CESA staff and consultants: Bentham Paulos, Charles Hua, Warren Leon, Wafa May Elamin, and Samantha Donalds. It was developed with support from and in collaboration with the US Climate Alliance. The Guide will be updated regularly to ensure it remains accurate and current.
About the Clean Energy States Alliance
CESA is a leading US coalition of state energy organizations working together to advance the rapid expansion of clean energy technologies and bring the benefits of clean energy to all. Established in 2002, CESA is a national, member-supported nonprofit that works with its members to develop and implement effective clean energy policies and programs.
For more information, contact Samantha Donalds, Communications Coordinator, Clean Energy States Alliance, at 508-654-5813 or email sam@cleanegroup.org.
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