Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) is a 501(c)(6) environmentalist advocacy business league with notable members such as Apple, General Electric, and Edison Energy. It advocates for businesses to incorporate environmentalism in their business practices and for policy that facilitates a complete transition to an infrastructure that relies on environmentalist energy. 1
AEE has advocated for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to drastically increase spending to create an infrastructure reliant on environmentalist energy. In response to President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan, AEE CEO Nat Kreamer stated, “We need to do this or we’re never going to be able to hit decarbonization plans.” 2 The plan itself states it creates “a new economy,” which some critics argue is a “socialist takeover.” 34
Background
AEE was founded in 2011 with about 700 companies as the first trade group that includes multiple environmentalist energy sectors. It was created so there could be more environmentalist policy advocacy by trade groups that included multiple sectors as opposed to one. 5
AEE lobbies at the federal, state, and regulatory levels to advocate for policy that allows for environmentalist energy companies, styled as “advanced energy,” to grow exponentially and transition away from conventional energy. It also coordinates among businesses how they can partake in the transition to relying solely on environmentalist energy. 6
Nat Kramer, AEE CEO, described the “Advanced Energy” AEE advocates for is any form of technology that allows the United States to replace conventional energy with environmentalist energy, including technology that minimizes energy consumption. 7
PowerSuite
AEE provides a paid subscription SaaS database platform called PowerSuite. PowerSuite automatically collects legislation data related to energy policy at the regional, state, and federal agencies, including both Chambers of the United States Congress. 8 It contains over 80 million regulatory filings, 1 million legislative issues, and 200 regulatory and utility profiles. 9
PowerSuite’s database includes data from all state public utility commissions as well as dockets and filings posted at the FERC. 10 The data focuses on environmentalist-related sectors, such as public utilities and energy, but includes additional sectors as well. 11
PowerSuite offers a premium subscription that includes a “legislative forecast.” PowerSuite claims that it can predict the outcome of a proposed bill with an 87% accuracy at the time of proposal and up to a 99.5 % accuracy rating as details are revealed. 12
Leadership
Nat Kreamer is the CEO of Advanced Energy Economy, founder and CEO of Fairtide Renew, an environmentalist-focused investment firm, and has previously worked for other environmentalist investment companies. Kreamer has also worked as an environmentalist energy business consultant and served as the chairman for the Board of Directors of the Solar Energy Industries Association. 13
Tom Steyer, AEE co-founder, is an American hedge-fund billionaire turned climate-change activist and left-wing political figure. He helped create AEE to promote environmentalist energy.
Eric Fitz is the General manager of Powersuite. Fitz has co-founded several software technology companies and worked as a management consultant where he focused on incorporating environmentalist energy. 14
Jeff Dennis is the Managing Director at AEE, overseeing the expansion of environmentalist energy technology within wholesale markets. Prior to joining AEE, he worked for the FERC for over ten years as a director of policy development and legal advisor. 15 After President Joe Biden was elected, Dennis advocated for the expansion of spending by the FERC on environmentalist energy infrastructure. 16
Financials
In 2018, Advanced Energy Economy reported receiving $2,522,176 in membership dues, $434,625 in affiliate dues, $30,776 in program fees, and $3,057,579 in total revenue. 17 AEE reported spending $1,928,246 in salaries and wages between officers, directors, trustees, and other employees and $3,990,963 in total expenses. 1819
References
- “About AEE.” AEE. Accessed February 23, 2021. https://www.aee.net/about/aee.
- Chen, Max. “Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Could Energize Clean Energy ETFs.” ETF Trends. ETF Trends, April 1, 2021. https://www.etftrends.com/esg-channel/bidens-infrastructure-plan-could-energize-clean-energy-etfs/.
- “FACT SHEET: The American Jobs Plan.” The White House. The United States Government, March 31, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/.
- Samuels, Brett, Jonathan Easley, and Amie Parnes. “White House Moves to Reshape Role of US Capitalism.” TheHill. The Hill, April 1, 2021. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/545836-white-house-moves-to-reshape-role-of-us-capitalism.
- Jaffe, Mark. “Alternative-Energy ‘Chamber of Commerce’ Launched in Denver.” The Denver Post. The Denver Post, November 7, 2011. https://www.denverpost.com/2011/11/07/alternative-energy-chamber-of-commerce-launched-in-denver/.
- “Advanced Energy Economy (AEE).” Alliance to Save Energy, October 26, 2017. https://www.ase.org/profile/advanced-energy-economy-aee.
- Morehouse, Catherine. “AEE: Advanced Energy Industry Revenues Grew to $238B in 2018.” Utility Dive, April 29, 2019. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/aee-advanced-energy-industry-revenues-grew-to-238b-in-2018/553622/.
- “PowerSuite Data Coverage and Update Frequency.” AEE PowerSuite Help Center. Accessed February 23, 2021. http://help-powersuite.aee.net/en/articles/702563-powersuite-data-coverage-and-update-frequency.
- Fitz, Eric. “Eric Fitz.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 23, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ehfitz/.
- “PowerSuite Data Coverage and Update Frequency.” AEE PowerSuite Help Center. Accessed February 23, 2021. http://help-powersuite.aee.net/en/articles/702563-powersuite-data-coverage-and-update-frequency.
- “Staying on Top of Energy Policy across 50 States Is Hard… PowerSuite Makes It Easy.” AEE PowerSuite. Accessed February 23, 2021. https://powersuite.aee.net/welcome.
- “Legislative Forecasts Explained.” AEE PowerSuite Help Center. Accessed February 23, 2021. http://help-powersuite.aee.net/en/articles/791836-legislative-forecasts-explained.
- “Nat Kreamer: Chief Executive Officer.” Nat Kreamer | Chief Executive Officer. Accessed February 24, 2021. https://www.aee.net/about/team/nat-kreamer.
- Fitz, Eric. “Eric Fitz.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ehfitz/.
- “Jeff Dennis: Managing Director and General Counsel.” Advanced Energy Economy. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://www.aee.net/about/team/jeff-dennis.
- John, Jeff St. “Biden Executive Orders Set Broad Federal Role in Clean Energy and Climate Change Mitigation.” Greentech Media. Greentech Media, January 27, 2021. https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/biden-executive-orders-set-broad-federal-role-in-climate-change-and-clean-energy.
- Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Advanced Energy Economy. 2018. Part VIII, Lines 2a-2g.
- Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Advanced Energy Economy. 2018. Part IX, Lines 5-7.
- Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Advanced Energy Economy. 2018. Pat IX, Line 25.