Program to promote efficiency, innovation, investment, and supply chain security for a cleaner, more reliable electricity system
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Climate Leadership Council today announced the launch of a policy program aimed at meeting increasing electricity demand with secure, reliable, and affordable power—and seizing this moment to accelerate low-carbon solutions. Erin Alejandre will manage the effort as the Council’s new Director, Policy. The initiative will also be informed by the Council’s growing group of external policy advisors, made up of energy experts spanning the political spectrum.
U.S. electricity demand is projected to rise for decades to come, driven by data centers, manufacturing, and broader electrification of the economy. This growth will fuel energy innovation, but it is also exposing a grid that hasn’t kept pace: aging infrastructure, slow permitting, and a growing backlog of projects waiting to connect to the system.
The Council’s new initiative will start with a focus on four areas:
- Grid efficiency: Get more out of today’s grid with rapid-deploying solutions like demand response, reconductoring, uprating, and grid-enhancing technologies.
- Grid expansion: Speed the planning, permitting, and interconnection of new generation and transmission infrastructure.
- Clean firm power: Pull forward the next generation of baseload clean energy technologies and preserve today’s clean firm resources.
- Secure supply chains: Build domestic manufacturing capacity and international partnerships to ensure access to critical grid equipment and inputs.
Erin Alejandre will continue the buildout of the electricity infrastructure program, working with industry, government, and broad policy community stakeholders to develop and advance market-based proposals.
“Erin brings a decade of government leadership overseeing clean energy and nuclear programs across two administrations at the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Energy, along with a proven ability to build coalitions,” said Council CEO Greg Bertelsen. “She knows how to turn hard energy tradeoffs into win-win policy solutions. That’s exactly what this moment of rising electricity demand calls for.”
Alejandre joins the Council after working on energy policy at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), under both Republican and Democratic administrations. At OMB, she oversaw clean energy, nuclear, and demonstration programs, with recent work focused on demonstrating advanced nuclear reactors to meet rising demand from data centers. She has worked to translate complex energy issues into policy that resonates with broad coalitions, including strengthening the nuclear fuel supply chain.
“This is a real window of opportunity,” said Alejandre. “The U.S. needs a more dynamic electricity system to deliver secure, reliable, and affordable power. I’ve spent my career finding energy solutions that work on both sides of the aisle and, most importantly, create lasting improvements for Americans.”
The initiative’s work will also be informed by the Council’s newest policy advisor, Jane Flegal. Flegal is a Senior Fellow at the Searchlight Institute and The States Forum and previously served as Senior Director for Industrial Emissions at the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy. Flegal joins a roster of advisors spanning diverse political perspectives, reflecting the Council’s approach of building solutions that can attract support from across the aisle.