American Energy Action (AEA) is a Washington, D.C.-based environmentalist political advocacy organization that lobbies elected officials to support weather-dependent energy, especially wind and solar energy. The AEA directly lobbies legislators and engages in public advocacy campaigns to convince voters of the benefits of weather-dependent energy. ¹

History and Activities

American Energy Action was formed in collaboration with the American Wind Energy Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing wind-power project developers, suppliers, manufacturers, and others involved in the wind-energy industry. AEA was developed as an independent advocacy organization to represent the wider weather-dependent energy industry. ²

AEA lobbies elected officials and policy makers in support of weather-based energy, including wind and solar energy. AEA directly engages in campaigns to shift legislative votes by targeting current lawmakers and government officials; conducting issue advocacy campaigns in in federal, congressional, and state legislative races; and promoting grassroots organizing. AEA also conducts public education campaigns to inform voters of their representatives’ positions on weather-based energy on both the state and federal level. ³

Beginning in 2022, AEA supported the Biden administration’s weather-dependent energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act, including by crafting messaging on the specific benefits of taxpayer-funded weather-dependent energy funding for specific states like New York, Nevada, and Colorado. ⁴

In 2021, AEA launched the “Truth Texas Power” campaign, a series of ads designed to convince Texans to support weather-based energy. The ads promote the level of investment green energy companies have made in rural Texas, highlight the number of green energy jobs created through these investments, and argue that green energy supports ranchers by providing additional income on their land. ⁵

In 2017, AEA launched a pro-wind energy campaign to convince then-President Donald Trump and Congress of the benefits of wind power for rural areas. Through the campaign, AEA ran a series of TV, radio, and digital ads in Washington, D.C. AEA claims the campaign cost millions of dollars and ran over multiple months. ⁶

People

American Energy Action is led by a board of directors consisting of four people: Phil Musser, JC Sandberg, Tom Starrs, and Sarah Webster. ⁷

Phil Musser is the vice president of government affairs at NextEra Energy, a green energy company. Musser formerly worked as the senior vice president and chief communications officer of Boeing, an American aerospace corporation. ⁸

JC Sandberg is the CEO of the American Clean Power Association, a left-of-center trade association with that advocates for energy infrastructure solely reliant on weather-dependent sources. Previously, Sandberg worked as the chief global affairs officer at GE Renewable Energy. ⁹

Tom Starrs is the vice president of government affairs for EDP Renewables ¹⁰ North America, a weather-based energy company. ¹¹

Sarah Webster is the vice president of investor relations, government relations, and corporate communications at Pattern Energy, ¹² a company focused on weather-dependent energy storage and transmission projects. ¹³

Grantmaking

In 2021, American Energy Action gave $250,000 in grants to Solar Energy Industries Association, ¹⁴ a weather-dependent energy advocacy group, as well as $100,000 to the Senate Opportunity Fund, ¹⁵ a right-of-center research and advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. ¹⁶

Affiliated Organizations

American Energy Action Colorado is the Colorado-based affiliated political action committee of American Energy Action. AEA also supports the American Energy Action Fund, ¹⁷ a political action committee that raised $650,000 and spent $638,244 from 2019 to 2020. ¹⁸

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2.  ‘Take Action.” American Energy Action. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://americanenergyaction.org/take-action/.
3.  “About us.” American Energy Action. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://americanenergyaction.org/about-us/.
4. “AmEnergyAction.” Twitter. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://twitter.com/AmEnergyAction.
5. “Campaigns.” American Energy Action. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://americanenergyaction.org/campaigns/.
6. “American Energy Action Launched Federal Pro-Win Energy Campaign to Educate Trump Administration, Lawmakers on Wind Industry Economic and Job Impact.” American Energy Action. June 14, 2017. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://americanenergyaction.org/federal-campaign-announcement/
7. “About us.” American Energy Action. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://americanenergyaction.org/about-us/
8. “About us.” American Energy Action. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://americanenergyaction.org/about-us/.
9. “About us.” American Energy Action. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://americanenergyaction.org/about-us/.
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11. “EDP Renewables North America.” EDP Renewables. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://www.edpr.com/north-
12. “About us.” American Energy Action. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://americanenergyaction.org/about-us/.
13. “About us.” Pattern Energy. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://patternenergy.com/about/.
14. “Solar Energy Industries Association.” Solar Energy Industries Association. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://www.seia.org/.
15. “Senate Opportunity Fund.” Senate Opportunity Fund. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://senopportunity.org/.
16. American Energy Action. Return of an Organization Exempt Form Income Tax (Form 990). 2021.
17. American Energy Action. Return of an Organization Exempt Form Income Tax (Form 990). 2021.
18. “PAC Profile: American Energy Action Fund.” Open Secrets. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/american-energy-action-fund/C00760082/summary/2020.