Alternative Power Plays

The energy industry can be doing all the right things, but what is that good effort worth publicly if no one knows about it? Or worse, if they have the wrong perception of reality? Without controlling the narrative, public and private sentiment can get out of hand fairly quickly. And that's why firms like Echo Communications exist.On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan's John Povilaitis welcomes Chris Moyer, President of Echo Communications Advisors. Chris has nearly 20 years of experience advising U.S. Senators, presidential campaigns, and advocacy organizations on how to influence public narratives and policy outcomes. That includes helping shape legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and securing billions in clean energy funding.During the conversation, Chris shares some of the risks and opportunities that energy companies face in the year (and years) ahead, what type of messaging can resonate in our hyper polarized world, and what changes those in Washington, D.C., should make to the narrative on renewables.To learn more about Echo Communications, visit: https://echocomms.com/ To learn more about Chris Moyer, visit: https://echocomms.com/staff/chris-moyer/To learn more about John Povilaitis, visit: ⁠https://www.bipc.com/john-povilaitis

Grid expansion is a challenge. On this, almost everyone can agree. But what will it take to expand electric grid capacity and what barriers need to be broken to advance transmission siting and permitting?On this episode of Alternative Power Plays Christina Hayes, Executive Director at Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG) and Cici Vu, Director of Energy and Climate Equity at DNV Energy Insights USA, join hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis for a conversation on ACEG’s Report addressing the important issue of public acceptance of new electric infrastructure projects.ACEG is a non-profit public interest advocacy coalition focused on the need to expand, integrate and modernize the North American high-voltage electric grid. Christina has 20 years of experience as a regulatory energy attorney, including a decade at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. She previously served as Vice President for Federal Regulatory Affairs at Berkshire Hathaway Energy. At ACEG, Christina has been a leading advocate for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC’s landmark rule reforming regional transmission planning, Order No. 1920.Cici works to design strategies that address complex environmental and social challenges, with an emphasis on infrastructure, policy, and community-centered planning. She is a co-author of a report came out in January of this year and is called “The PACE of Trust: A Framework by Community Voices for Advancing Transmission.”To learn more about ACEG, visit: https://www.cleanenergygrid.org/To learn more about Christina Hayes, visit: https://cleanenergygrid.org/team/christina-hayes/To learn more about Cici Vu, visit: https://www.iesna.com/speaker/cici-vu/To learn more about Alan Seltzer, visit: https://www.bipc.com/alan-seltzerTo learn more about John Povilaitis, visit: ⁠https://www.bipc.com/john-povilaitis

Much of the world is seeking to find new ways of cleaning up electricity supplies, reducing emissions, and cutting climate pollution from buildings, transportation and more. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis talk with two leaders from Energy Innovation, a non-partisan energy and climate policy think tank, about their latest report examining energy parks as a solution to some of these challenges.Energy parks are essentially large-scale microgrids that integrate multiple renewable energy source-and-storage solutions like batteries, and co-locate with electricity consumers such as factories or data centers, all of which is connected to the grid at a single point. And while these energy parks sound good in theory, there are a number of regulatory hurdles that need to be overcome to bring them to life.Eric Gimon, a Senior Fellow at Energy Innovation, and Michelle Solomon Manager in the Electricity Program at Energy Innovation, talk about why energy parks may be the solution to some of our energy hurdles. During the discussion, they share insights into how energy parks work, why they make sense (and for whom they make sense), and what the future looks like for them.To learn more about Energy Innovation, visit: https://energyinnovation.org/To learn more about Michelle Solomon, visit: https://energyinnovation.org/bio/michelle-solomon/To learn more about Eric Gimon, visit: https://energyinnovation.org/bio/eric-gimon-2/To learn more about Alan Seltzer, visit: https://www.bipc.com/alan-seltzerTo learn more about John Povilaitis, visit: ⁠https://www.bipc.com/john-povilaitis

For decades, Pennsylvania has served as a key energy battleground and, in some ways, a harbinger for the challenges the energy industry will face years down the line. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis are joined by Andy Tubbs, President and CEO of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, or EAP for short.EAP is a trade association that represents and promotes the interests of regulated electric and natural gas distribution companies operating in Pennsylvania. Tubbs has extensive background in the regulation of utilities, policy and strategy, legislative affairs, and utility operations. He spearheads EAP’s initiatives to advocate for the energy industry and strengthen collaboration among policymakers, regulators and utility providers. During the discussion, the trio discuss the challenges facing Pennsylvania’s jurisdictional electric and gas utilities, whether new electric utility legislation is needed, what the future of solar could look like in the Commonwealth, and much more.To learn more about EAP, visit: https://www.energypa.org/ To learn more about Alan Seltzer, visit: https://www.bipc.com/alan-seltzerTo learn more about John Povilaitis, visit: ⁠https://www.bipc.com/john-povilaitis

The presence of coal in the U.S.’s energy mix has obviously changed dramatically over the past 15-20 years. From the continued growth of natural gas to the expansion of renewables to the increased focus on nuclear energy, coal has fallen quite a bit since its peak usage in the mid-2000s.On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer is joined by Fran Taglia, President of Weir International, an independent consultancy that provides mining, geology and energy related services throughout the United States and internationally. Fran has two decades of technical, operational analysis and business management experience in the financial, product development and production industries.During the episode, Seltzer and Taglia talk about the changing role of coal as an energy source and key drivers impacting its future. How much does the political landscape impact this resource? Is a true coal resurgence really happening? What untapped opportunities are there for this industry?To learn more about Weir International, visit: http://www.weirintl.com/To learn more about Fran Taglia, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fran-taglia-4b355841To learn more about Alan Seltzer, visit: https://www.bipc.com/alan-seltzer ⁠ 

Ed Hild, a government relations expert focused on renewable tax credits, and Carl Staiger, a tax specialist in energy projects, dive into the transformative One Big Beautiful Bill. They discuss its implications for tax credits and the nuanced 'Beginning of Construction' requirements that could dictate project success. The duo highlights the significant regulatory shifts for wind and solar developers. They also tackle strategies for navigating the complex legislative landscape and the potential need for developer advocacy amidst evolving policies.

On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis welcome Stephen McCloskey, Residential Energy Efficiency Analyst at Cape Light Compact. Cape Light Compact is an energy services organization operated by the 21 towns on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Dukes County in Massachusetts. In his role, McCloskey helps with the administration of its energy efficiency programs for single-family residential customers.During their conversation, the trio take a deep dive into Cape Light Compact’s energy efficiency programs, specifically the Cape and Vineyard Electrification Offering, or C-V-E-O, and how they’re working to decarbonize the communities they serve. They discuss the unique challenges and opportunities with decarbonization at a smaller scale, the process for customers to adopt greener energy options and how Cape Light is making a difference not just in New England but is actually setting an example for communities well beyond the Northeast.To learn more about Cape Light Compact, visit: https://www.capelightcompact.orgTo learn more about Stephen McCloskey, visit: https://www.capelightcompact.org/staff/stephen-mccloskey/To learn more about Alan Seltzer, visit: https://www.bipc.com/alan-seltzerTo learn more about John Povilaitis, visit: ⁠https://www.bipc.com/john-povilaitis

The wholesale electricity market has changed plenty in recent years, and if future projects are any indication, more change is on the way in the decade-plus ahead.On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and Brattle’s Metin Celebi welcome colleague Andrew Levitt, a Senior Consultant at Brattle. Levitt is an expert in wholesale electricity policy, focused on evolving system needs. He’s an expert in market design for emerging resources and has worked with utilities, regional transmission organizations (RTOs), and regulators.During the discussion, the three get into the weeds on an American Clean Power-commissioned report Brattle published that provides a roadmap for RTOs on energy storage market design. Conventional market design is very limiting for new technologies, specifically batteries, and the report focuses on why the RTOs of PJM, MISO and NYISO are strong candidates for reform. They also talk about why California Independent System Operator (CISO) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) remain leading examples of battery storage deployment and what has made them successful. Finally, Levitt ends the conversation with insights on what changes need to be made to other RTOs to make energy storage deployment possible.To learn more about Brattle, visit: https://www.brattle.com/To learn more about Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, visit: www.bipc.comTo learn more about Alan Seltzer, visit: https://www.bipc.com/alan-seltzer⁠To learn more about Metin Celebi, visit: ⁠ https://www.brattle.com/experts/metin-celebi/

On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis welcome Jon Gordon, Director at Advanced Energy United. Advanced Energy United (AEU) is an industry association and advocacy group that represents the full range of advanced energy technologies and services, both grid-scale and distributed. In his role, Jon leads AEU’s work to increase wholesale electricity market access for advanced energy technologies, including related transmission expansion.The conversation centers around PJM, the regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in 13 states and Washington, D.C. In February, AEU published a report examining the results of PJM’s capacity auction for 2025-2026, which saw prices surge to $14.7 billion, an increase of $12.5 billion from the previous auction. The three discuss the results of that report and how it will impact customers, what’s driving high prices, what additional reforms and remediation are needed to improve interconnection, and more.On a previous episode of Alternative Power Plays, Seltzer and Povilaitis sat down with Gordon’s colleague, Ryan Gallentine, Managing Director of Advanced Energy United where they discussed what policies Gallentine is focused on to help move electric vehicle adoption forward. To hear that conversation, visit: https://share.transistor.fm/s/f8e6940d. To learn more about Advanced Energy United, visit: https://advancedenergyunited.org/  To learn more about Jon Gordon, visit: https://advancedenergyunited.org/about/team/jon-gordonTo learn more about Alan Seltzer, visit: https://www.bipc.com/alan-seltzer To learn more about John Povilaitis, visit: ⁠https://www.bipc.com/john-povilaitis

What exactly is needed to prepare the electrical grid for load growth expected to come from electric vehicle adoption? What role does the clean energy industry play?On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis sat down with Ryan Gallentine, Managing Director of Advanced Energy United. Advanced Energy United is a national industry association representing businesses that provide the full range of advanced energy and transportation solutions. Gallentine leads the organization’s transportation portfolio, where he’s focused on designing political strategies and campaigns to promote electric vehicle adoption and infrastructure modernization.In this episode, Gallentine shares what policies he’s focused on at Advanced Energy United to help move electric vehicle adoption forward. He talks about which states in the U.S. are progressive when it comes to EV adoption and infrastructure, and which still have a ways to go. He talks about grid capacity, risks and future goals, and why an all-of-the-above approach makes sense.On a previous episode of the podcast, Britta Gross, Director of Transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), discussed these same issues from the point of view of utilities. Gallentine’s perspective comes from that of public and private companies in the clean energy industry. To hear our conversation with Gross, listen here: https://share.transistor.fm/s/824932f7. To learn more about Advanced Energy United, visit: https://advancedenergyunited.org/To learn more about Ryan Gallentine, visit: https://advancedenergyunited.org/about/team/ryan-gallentineTo learn more about Alan Seltzer, visit: https://www.bipc.com/alan-seltzer To learn more about John Povilaitis, visit: ⁠https://www.bipc.com/john-povilaitis