Business Leaders Form 'Advanced Energy Economy' to Drive American Competitiveness and Economic Growth

DENVER, Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- National and regional business leaders today announced the formation of Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a growing national network of state and regional business groups promoting American companies as global suppliers of innovative energy technologies.  AEE was unveiled in Denver, on the same day that its new Colorado chapter was announced. 

The AEE network starts out with chapters representing more than 700 companies in nine states, with that number to more than double by early next year.  When all AEE chapters now being formed are in place, over half of the U.S. population will be in states represented by an AEE chapter.

AEE launches with strong national, regional and statewide components, including:

• State and regional chapters that encompass Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.
• A merger with the Clean Economy Network (CEN), a non-partisan organization focused on developing a new economy based on technology and innovation. CEN will become part of AEE's national and regional network.

Advanced energy includes all solutions that move us toward the goal of energy that is affordable, abundant and secure. Rather than favoring specific technologies, advanced energy is inclusive in nature and judged by the benefits it provides in the field and in the marketplace. Electric and plug-in hybrid cars, lightweight composites for airplane bodies, natural gas-fueled trucks, high-performance buildings, more efficient industrial processes, and the latest wind, solar, and nuclear technologies – these all represent advanced energy  in that they produce energy savings, use resources more productively, reduce dependence on foreign oil and reduce health and environmental costs.

"It's time to look at energy innovation as a necessity for America, not an option," said Tom Steyer, one of the founders of AEE and founder and co-managing partner of Farallon Capital Management. "As global energy demand continues to grow America has the opportunity to lead the world toward new ways to generate, use, and conserve this vital resource. If we do, it will advance our economy, improve our health and increase our national security.  Not to do so would be a tragedy."

AEE believes that advanced energy represents the next innovation-based industry and that the United States is best positioned to drive its development and reap its rewards. With global energy consumption expected to increase more than 50 percent by 2035, energy solutions will need to be cost effective, price competitive, applicable on a wide scale, and secure in their sources. That makes advanced energy –technologies and services that produce or manage energy in innovative ways– an economic opportunity for American companies and workers.

AEE will develop a meaningful business federation for the purpose of creating a more supportive business and policy climate for the advanced energy sector.  It will provide financial assistance to chapters along with communications, policy, research and data support.

"AEE will provide a unified business voice that can develop meaningful public-private partnerships at the state, regional and national levels," said Hemant Taneja, Managing Director of General Catalyst Partners, who founded and co-chaired the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC).  "This is how New England and other regions have succeeded in creating a positive business environment for advanced energy, and I am confident that this bottom-up approach is the key to building our advanced energy economy."

Other business and public leaders committed to driving AEE and serving on its board include: George P. Shultz, former secretary of Labor, Treasury and State and Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution; Tim Healy, CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder of EnerNOC; William Ritter, former Colorado Governor; Phil Giudice, Managing Director at Rhumb Line Energy LLC; and former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt.

"As someone who has seen the impact that energy has on our national and economic security, it's critical that America take a leadership position in the new energy technology that will determine competitiveness for the next twenty years," said George P. Shultz, now a Distinguished Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

Initial AEE chapters announced today include:

• Advanced Energy Economy Ohio, a statewide effort launched to drive economic growth and jobs through new energy sources and systems.  AEE Ohio brings together eight state economic development groups focused on advanced energy.
• Colorado Cleantech Industry Association, a statewide organization dedicated to promoting Colorado's cleantech industry.
• Clean Energy Trust, based in Illinois, which is focused on accelerating the development of Midwest clean energy businesses by connecting entrepreneurs, researchers and early stage companies with the expertise and capital needed to become sustainable.
• New England Clean Energy Council, an organization of over 400 advanced energy companies, venture investors, major financial institutions, universities, industry associations, utilities, labor and large commercial energy users in the six New England states seeking to elevate the region's clean energy economy to global leadership.

Discussions are under way that are expected to result in the formation of AEE state and regional chapters representing more than 20 states within the next year.

AEE has offices in Washington, DC, and Palo Alto, CA.  For more information about AEE, please go to www.AEE.Net.

Media teleconference availability to announce the new national coalition to spur the Advanced Energy Economy will take place Monday, November 7, 2011 at 12:00pm ET. Please RSVP for the teleconference with Lauren Sacks at 202-463-0013 ext.207 or [email protected].  Upon reservation, you will receive the dial-in information for the call.

SOURCE Advanced Energy Economy