A United Voice for Renewables

Advanced Energy Economy will formally announce its launch today in an effort to unite alternative energy companies. Under Tom Steyer and Hemant Taneja, the organization already has state and regional chapters with over 700 companies and hopes to grow into a nationwide chamber of commerce, bringing a unified voice to solar, wind and electric car companies.

"There is no business voice for advanced energy, and there has to be," said Steyer to the San Francisco Chronicle. "There has to be on a local level, and there has to be on a national level."

However, several similar national groups exist, including Environmental Entrepreneurs, American Sustainable Business Council and the U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, wind and solar have their own trade associations. The overcrowded field has led to a scattered voice for renewables, but Steyer and Taneja are forging alliances and merging with other groups to change that.

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"Fragmentation is exactly the problem we're trying to solve," said Taneja, a venture capitalist who founded the New England Clean Energy Council, to the San Francisco Chronicle. "There are issues that require the industry to come together in an organized fashion, and that just doesn't happen today."

The organization will start most of its efforts at a state and regional level, pushing for policies that look out for the industry. The organization hopes to bring the industry together, open up conversation and give renewables a united voice.

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