CESA and USCA Partner to Accelerate Progress towards 100% Clean Energy

The adoption of 100% clean energy goals by 17 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and has been an especially important positive climate change policy development. Together, these jurisdictions represent 42 percent of the US population and almost half of US GDP. In 2020, CESA launched the 100% Clean Energy Collaborative to create a networking platform for those states working to achieve ambitious decarbonization targets.

The Collaborative produces timely analysis and provides a trusted forum for states to share information on best practices and to cooperate on program development. The Collaborative’s recent report, “Advancing Toward 100 Percent: State Policies, Programs, and Plans for Zero-Carbon Electricity,” identifies the states’ specific 100 percent commitments, describes ways in which they are planning to achieve their goals, and highlights some of the initial plans they have developed. The primary participants in the Collaborative are state officials with responsibilities for achieving their state’s 100% goals and policymakers in other states that may consider establishing similar targets.

To increase the Collaborative’s reach and impact, CESA has now teamed up with the United States Climate Alliance (USCA) to strengthen the 100% Clean Energy Collaborative. USCA is a bipartisan coalition of governors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. USCA will encourage policymakers and program managers from its participating states to take part in the 100% Clean Energy Collaborative’s convenings of state energy officials and to attend the Collaborative’s informative webinars.

This new partnership will allow CESA and USCA to coordinate and amplify their respective activities, to create synergies, and to avoid duplication of effort. Jennifer Taylor, Deputy Director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy, will serve as USCA’s representative on the 100% Clean Energy Collaborative Advisory Committee. She will facilitate communication and input from USCA’s power sector working group. Additionally, the UN Foundation has provided a grant to support the partnership, which will allow the Collaborative to expand its activities over the coming months.

Currently, the Collaborative’s Advisory Committee has identified three areas of focus: 1) to assist states to develop and implement a 100% clean electricity plan; 2) to align the goals of equity and 100% clean energy; and 3) to inform how 100% goals impact the design and operation of wholesale markets and lead to deep decarbonization in the electricity sector.

Participation in the 100% Clean Energy Collaborative is open to all CESA members. CESA will conduct informational calls, host webinars, produce a monthly newsletter, and provide technical assistance to states working on decarbonization goals. To learn more, see cesa.org/projects/100-clean-energy-collaborative.