Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: American Clean Power Association (ACP) demonstrates strategic positive engagement on US federal and state climate policy. The group actively supports the expansion of offshore wind and advocates for state-level renewable energy policy, but has engaged to weaken implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean hydrogen tax credit. ACP formed via a merger with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) in January 2021 and the US Energy Storage Association (ESA) in January 2022.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: ACP has positive top-line messaging on climate policy, with CEO Jason Grumet demonstrating support for climate action. For example, in a September 2023 interview with the New York Times, Grumet recognized the need for increased efforts to reduce emissions and appeared to support regulation to address climate change by stating that “absent significant changes in public policy, we will fail to reduce emissions in time to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis.” During New York Climate Week in September 2023, ACP signed a joint letter as part of the Global Renewables Alliance, which advocated for greater ambition ahead of COP28.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: ACP appears to demonstrate positive engagement on federal and state climate-related policy. At the federal level, the group repeatedly advocated for the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits: in January 2022, ACP organized an open letter to Congressional leadership advocating for the Build Back Better Act’s renewable energy tax credits, and following Senator Manchin’s rejection of the bill’s provisions in July 2022, the group developed an action campaign to mobilize support for a federal reconciliation bill that included those credits. That same month, following the Supreme Court ruling on West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), then-CEO Zichal issued a press release that opposed the decision’s impact on the agency’s ability to address power sector emissions. Despite submitting a January 2022 brief in support of the EPA, ACP does not seem to have engaged during the agency’s multiple comment periods throughout 2022-2024 on establishing power plant carbon standards.
At the state level, ACP appears to advocate for state-level policy toward increasing renewable energy and energy storage capacity. In California, for example, the group issued an August 2022 press release in support of the offshore wind target adopted by the state Energy Commission to develop 2-5 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045. In Maryland, in March 2023 testimony on House Bill 910, ACP advocated for the state to support energy storage targets in order to integrate higher shares of renewables. The group also defended existing climate policy in Virginia, submitting February 2022 testimony in opposition to House Bill 118, which proposed to repeal the renewable energy requirements established by the state’s 2020 climate law.
Positioning on Energy Transition: ACP has taken mostly positive positions on the transition of the energy mix, but demonstrated some mixed or negative positions on federal energy-related policies over the 2022-2024 time period. Regarding the Inflation Reduction Act, the group has engaged to weaken the proposed implementation of the clean hydrogen tax credit: in February 2024 comments and December 2022 comments to the Internal Revenue Service, ACP advocated for the hourly matching requirements to be postponed and for exemptions to be granted to early movers. CEO Grumet issued several public statements echoing this position, including a June 2023 press release announcing the group’s “Green Hydrogen Framework” in which he emphasized that “if government requirements are too burdensome at the outset, we will never build a green hydrogen industry.” Regarding permitting reform, ACP’s CEO has frequently advocated for permitting reform without disclosing a clear position on the transition of the energy mix. For example, in an April 2024 press release on the finalization of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Phase 2 revisions, Grumet stated that “much work remains to achieve the permitting goals set forth in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023,” however without clarifying whether ACP supports the law’s fossil fuel provisions, such as the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Previously, in May 2023 testimony before the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Grumet advocated for permitting reform to facilitate all forms of energy infrastructure, including fossil fuels and renewables.