American Energy Society (AES)
The American Energy Society (AES) is an independent, professional membership organization that aims to advance abundant, affordable, and safe energy. AES provides data-driven content, insightful publications, and community-building events to its members, who come from all energy sectors. 1
Contents
The AES operates the Coastside Venture Studio, which fosters startups working on resiliency tech. 2
Activities
The American Energy Society (AES) is professional membership organization comprised of professionals, experts, and advocates intent on solving energy challenges worldwide through abundant, affordable, and safe energy. AES promotes energy literacy by publishing nonpartisan energy news and reports, offering professional and business development, and providing services that include access to energy experts, data, and analytics. 1
Each year, the AES selects an Energy Writer of the Year, which it calls the “premier literary award for energy.” The 2025 winner was Vijay Vaitheeswaran, the global energy and climate innovation editor for The Economist. Past winners include Rosanna Xia (2024), an environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times; Philip Verleger and Kim Pederson (2023), an energy economist and freelance writer, respectively; and Amy Harder (2022), founder of Cipher News. 3
Coastside Venture Studio
The Coastside Venture Studio (CSVS) was founded in 2024 by the American Energy Society (AES) to foster startups dedicated to resiliency tech primarily in the areas of agriculture, water, and the built environment. CSVS claims that food and water systems are being increasingly disrupted by extreme weather events caused by global warming, and that the ability to adapt with resiliency tech is part of the solution. CSVS acts as an incubator-through-accelerator program supporting high-potential startups that are dedicated to solving these kinds of resiliency challenges. 2
Funding
The American Energy Society (AES) is funded by memberships. In 2025, individual memberships were $129 a year and university subscriptions were $3,950 a year. Memberships for organizations are custom-priced. 4
People
As of 2025, Eric Vettel was the president of the American Energy Society (AES). Vettel is a former in-residence fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia and a former executive director of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. 5
Sponsor and Member Organizations
As of 2025, the American Energy Society (AES) has listed its sponsors and membership organizations on its website. These include the American Coal Council, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), BHP, Centrus Energy, ClearPath, Day & Zimmerman, Dayaway, Dominion Energy, Fire2Fission, Geothermal Rising, Honeywell, Huntsville Utilities, Innovation Centre Denmark, NextCorps, Nordic Innovation House, Orrick, RMI, Saoradh Enterprise Partners, Secure Solar Futures, Schneider Electric, Sunrun, Wilson Sonsini, and the Women’s Energy Network. 6