No one would fault Heather Zichal for being a bit pessimistic.
As head of the American Clean Power Association, she's seen grand policy proposals fail even as the impacts of climate change shift from anticipated to experienced.
And, as a female chief executive, she sees firsthand the disparities throughout the energy ranks when it comes to opportunities for women and minority groups.
So why, then, is Zichal so optimistic?
Heather Zichal (Courtesy: ACP) Zichal's journey to lead what many regard as the unified voice for clean energy began with a passion for conservation and biodiversity. Urban and politically charged Washington, D.C. was only meant to serve as a pit stop.
But back in 1998, Zichal, who was working at the time with the Sierra Club in New Jersey, was drawn to the long-shot congressional campaign of energy scientist Rush Holt, Jt. who went on to serve eight terms as the representative for New Jersey's 12th district.
"I said, 'I'll be here for a few years and then I'll go do my thing,' and now 25 years later, I'm still here," Zichal said.
Zichal went on to work in the office of climate hawk Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) before advising Barack Obama on climate policies during his presidential campaign in 2008.
Zichal said that at times, she feels as if society has gone backward from her Sierra Club days: climate change is a deeply divisive, partisan topic. But the conversation around clean energy, she says, is different.
"Even talking to Republican members about offshore wind, they're like, 'Oh my God. It's so cool. The steel came from West Virginia, and you're taking oil and gas workers, and they're building these turbines,'" she said. "People are now connecting the dots that these are jobs."
The realization is growing for Republicans and Democrats alike that clean energy represents an economic opportunity in their own backyard.
"It's not like a hippie with solar panels talking," Zichal said. "It's the CEOs of every major utility in the country."
Zichal knows how hard it is to pass meaningful climate policy.
She served in the Obama White House as the administration struggled to get Congress to pass climate policies, finally restoring to a series of limited and ultimately reversible executive orders.
Fast-forward a decade, and Zichal watched as President Joe Biden's social and climate policy proposal, Build Back Better, was trimmed from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion to nothing due to opposition primarily from West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, himself a Democrat, although arguably the party's most conservative member in the Senate.
The Build Back Better Act included $550 billion for clean energy, hailed as the most significant climate policy proposal in U.S. history. But Build Back Better is dead, so erase the words from your memory, Zichal advised. Even so, the incentives for clean energy within the proposal are very much alive.
"I'm not worried about our stuff," Zichal said, noting that many of the objections to the bill focused on its social welfare aspects. "Even members like (Manchin) are saying, 'Look, your stuff is not what I'm worried about.'"
Zichal said she remains optimistic--nearly confident--that clean energy provisions will ultimately pass. She said that failing to act on the opportunity presented by the Senate's needle-threading budget reconciliation process would be "political malfeasance," especially for Democrats in tight races this autumn.
After all, Congress in 2009 passed $90 billion in stimulus to help the country recover from the Great Recession. That there's little debate today about the nearly a half-trillion dollars targeted for clean energy and climate change is a victory of its own, Zichal said.
"Look at the success that we've had as an industry in terms of deployments in wind, solar, and now storage," Zichal said. She said the industry achieved those wins "with one arm tied behind our back." After all, not only is there no national clean energy policy, but tax code provisions like the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) offer little long-term certainty and predictability.
Through the budget reconciliation process and the very-much-alive proposal to extend the ITC for 10 years, and add an ITC for standalone energy storage, the clean energy industry would have a decade of certainty and predictability. "Imagine what we're going to do with it," she said.
Heather Zichal speaks at the commissioning of Pattern Energy's Western Spirit Wind project in New Mexico (Courtesy: ACP) The clean energy industry's shot at a half-trillion-dollar incentive package may be a testament to the value that a unified voice like the American Clean Power Association brings to the table, supporters say.
Formerly the American Wind Energy Association, the American Clean Power Association (ACPA) was formed in 2021 to broaden its scope to represent wind, solar, storage, and transmission. Earlier this year, the U.S. Energy Storage Association completed its merger with ACPA.
Other trade groups advocate on behalf of segments of the clean energy industry and for climate change mitigation, but ACP moves with a force that now demands attention in Washington.
Jim Murphy, president and chief operating officer of renewable energy developer Invenergy, said his company chose to become a founding member of ACP because of its ability to "advocate with one voice" on behalf of the industry.
Zichal has guided the organization's evolution over the past 14 months to now represent more than 700 companies in clean energy.
"With the team that I've been able to build here, we're able to play the political game better," Zichal said. For one thing, the group launched a $3 million ad campaign to advocate for clean energy. The focus of those ads, she said, is not on polar bears, but rather on "men and women working to repair wind turbines and solar plants."
Zichal said she believes that the clean energy industry needed to grow up.
The clean energy industry is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S. over the next decade. But, so far, data shows that disadvantaged communities and populations have largely been left out of the energy transition.
Along with being the unified voice for clean energy comes a heightened responsibility to address the industry's well-documented workforce disparities.
"The numbers are abysmal," Zichal said.
For example, women make up just 30% of the clean energy workforce overall, while Black people represent only 8%, according to ACP. Women make up 15% of clean energy corporate boards, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color represent 6% of board membership.
ACP's Energy Transition for All campaign calls on the clean energy industry to expand opportunities for workers in disadvantaged communities, create value through targeted investments and economic development, and take on a leadership role in diversity and inclusive workforce development.
"This is going to continue to be a priority for me," Zichal said. "We have a lot of areas of opportunity."
The ACP framework directs clean energy companies to ensure that individuals from all backgrounds are aware of and have access to opportunities, and also guarantee prevailing wages and other benefits for construction jobs while investing in career growth and advancement opportunities.
One touchpoint for the industry is through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) student competitions in grades K-12. Companies should support existing programs and create apprenticeship opportunities that balance classroom instruction with paid job training, ACP's Energy Transition report notes.
Changing a trend isn't easy. But ACP, and Zichal, believe the clean energy industry can take meaningful steps with a deliberate and transparent process.
“There is no single solution to ensure a successful energy transition,” Zichal said. Instead, it will take coordination from policymakers, community leaders, and industry to ensure that the transition is equitable and that everyone shares in the economic growth and opportunity.
"As an industry, we are committed to playing our part in creating a better future for everyone and an energy transition for all,” she said.
Zichal's optimism is less rooted in the policymaking process -- which can still be frustrating --- than it is in what she sees as the unstoppable momentum of clean energy.
Solar power generating capacity in the U.S. has grown from 7 GW in 2012 to 120 GW and is expected to triple over the next decade. Renewable energy makes up nearly all new generating capacity added to the grid now. And clean energy is playing an enhanced role in resiliency due to the rapid uptake of battery storage.
Clean energy grew up, proved itself, and found its voice, with the help of people like Zichal.
"We're not trying to pretend we exist; we are here," Zichal said. "And we're creating jobs and opportunities in communities across the country."
