Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), formerly the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA), demonstrates broadly positive positions on US climate policy, with evidence of advocacy at the federal and state levels, including in North Carolina and Texas. The group has positive top-line messaging, including from its executive leadership, and appears to advocate for measures toward transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: CEBA demonstrates positive top-line messaging on climate policy. In November 2022, CEBA signed a We Mean Business Coalition statement that called for greater ambition at COP27. In its 2030 Strategic Plan updated in January 2023, then-CEO Miranda Ballentine supported reducing GHG emissions reductions in line with the 1.5°C target. Previously, Ballentine advocated for policymakers to support the Build Back Better Act’s climate provisions, including in a September 2021 press release.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: CEBA appears to take generally positive positions on climate-related policy. At the federal level, CEBA has advocated for a range of climate legislation and regulatory proposals. Former CEO Ballentine strongly supported federal clean energy incentives, both in December 2021 testimony in support of the Build Back Better Act’s renewable energy tax credits before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, and in a May 2022 press release that called upon policymakers to pass a clean energy investment package. In February 2023, CEBA submitted comments in support of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which proposed to direct federal contractors to set science-based targets to reduce their GHG emissions.
Positioning on Energy Transition: CEBA appears to take mostly positive positions on the energy transition. The group’s leadership has advocated for the urgent decarbonization of the US power sector, with former CEO Ballentine announcing the group’s support for a 90% carbon-free electricity system by 2030 in a November 2021 press release. In support of this position, CEBA advocated for the climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act and celebrated the legislation’s passage in an August 2022 statement. The group seems to support measures to develop hydrogen produced from renewables, submitting November 2022 comments to the Internal Revenue Service that advocated for the Inflation Reduction Act’s hydrogen tax credit to include hourly matching requirements. In a May 2023 brief, CEBA appears to support permitting reform to transition towards renewables in the energy mix, and in an August 2023 report on clean energy procurement, the group emphasized that “it is vital that this transition away from fossil-based energy is executed swiftly and intentionally.” In contrast, however, a March 2023 coalition letter organized by the US Chamber of Commerce and signed by CEBA advocated for permitting reform to facilitate the buildout of all forms of energy infrastructure, without disclosing a clear position on the role of various energy types in the energy mix.
At the state level, CEBA appears to advocate for a transition away from fossil fuels. In North Carolina, the group submitted July 2022 comments to state regulators that advocated for Duke Energy to codify a revised Carbon Plan that included more ambitious decarbonization and clean energy measures. In Texas, CEBA submitted November 2021 comments on the electricity market reform proposal that advocated against creating incentives toward fossil gas infrastructure, stating that “gas-fired generation should not be assumed to be more reliable, especially in cold weather events.”